As long as you're there
by Jinxgirl
Summary: AU verse. Young single mother Santana and an orphaned Sam, guardian to his five year old brother, meet and hit it off. What mutual joys and obstacles will this new and fragile formation of family face together as they come close?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own only Kyle and Antonia. This was plotted and co written as part of a rp by another writer. I did finish its middle and ending and edit and rewrite all shared parts.

Prologue

Seventeen year old Santana took a deep breath in, then let it out, her eyes continually darting to look for any sights of the person she was awaiting. One hand automatically came to rest on her stomach, feeling for the slight bump that she knew didn't yet exist, and she swallowed hard to try to keep her nerves at bay. This was the second time she would have to speak of this with someone who meant everything to her, and she wasn't sure that this time, she would be able to find words.

It had been almost okay, talking to her mother. Santana knew to the depths of her heart that Maribel Lopez would always love and support her, no matter what she did, and although she had been anxious and afraid to tell her of her far from planned on pregnancy, she had known that whatever Maribel's reaction, she would make it seem okay, eventually. And she had. Her mother had hugged her close to her, tears in her eyes, and kissed Santana's head, telling her in a voice only slightly choked that she loved her, that she was still her baby, and she would help her through whatever choice Santana made.

It had been different with her father- much different. Although he and Santana's mother had been separated since Santana was fifteen, Santana had chosen to take her mother with her when she confessed to him, knowing she would need the emotional and physical support. When Santana managed to come out with the truth to him, her mother's hand firmly gripping hers, she had watched as his face seemed to close in on itself, as his lips pressed into a thin line and he shook his head adamantly, as though to deny her words.

"I will not have this in my house," he had declared, shaking his head so hard that Santana was almost afraid he would pull a muscle in his neck. His hands drew into fists, and she thought as she looked at him that it was a true possibility he would hit her, or an object close by. "You dishonor the Lopez name, Santana. To do this…to make this of yourself, acting like a common whore-"

Santana's mother had spoke up then, defending her with viciously barbed words to her ex husband, and before Santana could even process it the two of them were screaming at each other, as much about each other and their role in parenting her as about her, herself. The confrontation had ended with Rodrigo Lopez barring Santana from his home and his life, vowing to disown her, and although Santana had not yet spoken to his mother, her abuela, she was certain that Alma Lopez would do the same.

This final discussion was with Kyle, the father of the child she was carrying, and unlike with her mother and father, Santana could not be sure of predicting how he would respond. Honestly, she didn't know Kyle well enough to guess. They hadn't exactly dated, if she could call it that, and they certainly were not in a relationship. For the past few months they had fallen into what she guessed could be considered a casual sexual partnership of sorts, rarely talking or hanging out together beyond the necessary of getting the deed done, and she had a feeling that Kyle would be less than thrilled for the end results of this arrangement.

She knew she had been stupid; she should have insisted that Kyle use a condom, or she should have put herself on birth control. She was supposed to complete her first year of college in only a few months, and having a baby would derail her from everything she had started to plan out in her life. But Santana could not even consider any other possibility. It wasn't just that she had been raised Catholic, and therefore felt required to think of abortion as wrong. It was the fact that already, although the baby had not moved or even started to bulge out her stomach at all, she felt like it was a person, a part of herself that she could not ever hate or want destroyed. Already, weird as it was, she felt like she loved this little being, and no matter how others reacted, she could never let it go.

She crossed, then uncrossed her legs, her bottom cold from the metal of the bleachers beneath her, and it crossed her mind that one day she might get so big from her pregnancy that she wouldn't be able to sit that way at all. She had chosen this place deliberately for their meeting, a local ball park with a playground within its view, in hopes that if Kyle saw other children at play, or at least could have the subconscious image of them in his head, that he would soften up at the idea of having a child of his own. She hoped, but she had no expectation. Kyle was many things, but one thing that she had never thought of him as was someone who was anywhere near wanting to become a father.

She still wasn't sure how she herself had ended up involved with Kyle. It all seemed such a blur to her, not in the least because there had more often than not been alcohol involved during their times together. As the end of their senior year had drawn to a close, Santana had begun to feel more and more uneasy with herself and her life. She knew that she would have to choose either a college or a career, that the end of her childhood was closing in fast, and this understanding was frightening. Even more scary than the unknowns of her future was her own feelings, because more and more, she was beginning to come to the understanding that she was attracted not just to boys, but to girls as well- and one girl on her cheerleading squad in particular.

She was pretty sure that it was these stressors in her life that caused her to respond when Kyle Latimer began to show some attention in her direction. Between her desire for feeling wanted and distracted, and the amount of alcohol that was always present when she was with him, they had fallen into a sexual if not emotional coupling fast, and now, here she was. Seven weeks pregnant, missing both her father and abuela from her life, undoubtedly having to put college on hold, if she could ever manage to go at all. She had fucked up, and now she had one more person to confide this in.

She was beginning to wonder if Kyle had stood her up when she saw his loping form come closer, recognizable even from a distance. As Kyle sat beside her easily, his shoulders slumped forward as he reached to give her shoulder a friendly shove, Santana didn't smile in greeting. She couldn't make her mouth move enough to try.

"What's up, Lopez?" he asked, and Santana tried to respond as casually as he had, to shoot the breeze for a while before going for the kill, but again she found she couldn't do it. She didn't have the energy to pretend for even a few seconds.

"I've got to tell you something, Kyle. I'm just gonna say it, okay? I'm…I'm pregnant. Seven weeks."

For several moments Kyle just looked at her, blinking, seeming unable to draw conclusions from her words. Then as their meaning hit, his face drew up into a scowl, and he shook his head quickly, already rejecting her words.

"How the hell can you know that? You don't look any different. You're full of shit, Lopez."

"I went to the doctor, Kyle," Santana said quietly, briefly biting her lower lip. "She took my blood and urine, she said I am. She's a doctor, she would know."

For a few more moments Kyle just shook his head, but the seriousness of Santana's expression must have convinced him. Finally, to himself more than to her, he spoke again, lifting up his chin in a gesture of defiance.

"Oh yeah? Well, sucks for you, I guess. Whose is it?"

At this Santana blinked in surprise, her eyes widening. Had he seriously just asked her that?

"Whose is it? It's yours, Kyle. Of course it's yours, whose else would it be?"

"Well, how should I know?" he shot back, jerking his chin up towards her. "I don't know what you do in your spare time. You could be fucking every guy on the football team for all I know. Wouldn't be a shock, you weren't no blushing virgin when you came my way."

Santana couldn't believe what she was hearing. This could not be happening. She had expected Kyle to be angry, to yell or refuse to help her out….but to go beyond that and accuse her of being a slut and a liar, to act like the baby wasn't his in the first place? It was beyond infuriating, it was insulting, and she got to her feet, putting her face close to his as she started to yell.

"It's yours, Kyle! You're the only asshole I've been fucking, so don't even try with that shit! I wish it wasn't true, maybe then the father would be someone with more brain and guts and less of an asshole, but you're the only one, it's YOU! So man the hell up and help me out here!"

But Kyle stepped back and to the side, walking down from the bleachers with the utter calm of a boy who had no worries at all. He didn't even glance back at Santana as he continued on his way.

"Sorry, Lopez, but you're on your own. I'm not helping out some other dude's kid."

He left her there, shaking with her anger and her grief, and it took very little time for Santana to understand. It was always going to be just her, her and her baby. With the exception of her mother, there was no one. She would always be on her own.

88

Five years later

Twenty-four year old Sam Evans heaved a sigh as he wheeled the grocery cart down the cereal aisle, eyeing not the items on the shelves that he was supposed to be buying, but rather the rapidly retreating back of his five year old brother, Stevie, who was currently engaged in what looked like an attempt at a cartwheel down the aisles. Taking another breath for patience, Sam called out to him, his voice firm but even. Stevie didn't take well to yelling, but sometimes, it was hard for him to remember this when he was reaching the end of his tolerance level.

"Stevie, you know you don't do that inside, especially not in a grocery store with hard floors. If you won't start listening to me then you're not getting Captain Crunch."

That was enough for Stevie to straighten up, his little mouth dropping open in dismay at the thought, and Sam smiled to himself as his brother began to walk again, more or less normally. He might not be a parent, but the past year of acting as one towards Stevie had definitely taught him a few tricks out of the parenting book.

This wasn't the way life was for most young men Sam's age; if they had responsibility towards anything at all other than themselves, it would be a dog or a house plant, not a human being, and if they did, it would probably be for their own child. But life had never been all that typical towards Sam, and his responsibility for Stevie was just one of the ways that he seemed destined to differ.

He felt a pang of sorrow in his heart, just thinking of this, as he wheeled into the frozen aisle and began to select bags of chicken and French fries. Only in the last year, since his parents' death, had he been required to start learning to make food that would be acceptable for a growing little boy instead of whatever he himself felt like eating. Sometimes he wondered if the way that he raised Stevie, as his guardian and brother rather than his father, was at all close to how his parents would have, if they had had the opportunity, and he worried that his own somewhat uncertain efforts would not give Stevie everything he could have and should have had from them. But after a year of trial and error, Sam was beginning to feel that he was starting to get a rhythm going in his parenting efforts, and most of the time, he and Stevie got along without too many problems.

But there was something about the supermarket that just seemed to make it impossible for the kid to pay attention to him.

"Stevie!" he called, as his brother darted around the corner out of the frozen food aisles and headed towards the cereal aisle again. "I already got the Captain Crunch, come back here!"

But his brother was already out of his sight and probably hearing range as well. With another sigh and a roll of his eyes, Sam started to wheel the cart towards him, starting to seriously consider whether his tall and sturdy brother would still fit in the baby seat of it.

88

Santana was already tired. A day with her daughter was always wearying, even when she was pleasant and well behaved, simply because she was an active, curious four year old who required lots of attention, supervision, and interaction. But today was not one of Antonia's best days. She had gotten in trouble in Pre K and came home grumpy and having refused her nap. She had been difficult ever since and overly tired and wound up. Santana would have just taken her home, made dinner, and settled her in for bed early, but they were out of milk and a few other needed things, so to the grocery store she had gone.

"I don't wanna, " Antonia had whined as Santana buckled her into her booster seat in the car, arching her back and pawing half heartedly at the strap. "That hurts my tummy, Mami. I don't wanna, I want to go home! I wanna play ponies!"

"Toni, it's only a few minutes, and then we're going home. You know you need cereal with your milk in the morning, or else you'll go to school with a grumbly tummy," Santana had reached to tickle her daughter's stomach as she spoke, trying to invoke a smile or giggle, but the child was having none of it. She had scowled back at her, her lower lip stuck out as she whined again.

"Wanna go home! Wanna go home!"

She had settled down somewhat by the time Santana pulled into the grocery parking lot, just enough that she would begrudgingly accept Santana's hand in hers as they walked inside, but she had bucked her again when Santana attempted to lift her up into the child's seat of the cart.

"Mami! I'm too big for that! That's for babies! What if someone I know sawed me?!"

Despite her exasperation, Santana had had to hide a smirk at that comment. Sometimes her daughter seemed four going on fourteen, with the precocious comments she came up with.

She had let her walk beside her instead, knowing that the child was too tired and cranky to wander off as she usually might. For the first fifteen minutes or so, the shopping had gone fairly peacefully. It was only when Santana turned her back for a few seconds to reach for a can high on the shelf that she heard the shrill shriek of Antonia, a noise she would recognize anywhere. Only her daughter and police sirens were capable of creating a noise that high and disturbing to the ears.

Santana's head whipped around and she stumbled, almost dropping the can on her toes as she located her daughter and attempted to determine the cause of her screaming. All she could see was that there was a little blonde boy, slightly larger than her, standing nearby, blinking at her sheepishly as Antonia shrieked her indignation.

"Antonia, what is the problem?!" Santana half shouted over her, and her daughter responded not to her, but to the other child, pushing her face close to him.

"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU, YOU MEAN UGLY BOY!"

She reared back her hand as though to slap him, but Santana seized her wrist, keeping her from doing so.

"Antonia Cristina!" she hissed, barely noting then that a young man had just wheeled his cart around the corner and abandoned it to run over to them. The man took hold of the little boy's shoulders, pulling him back from the two of them and addressing him even as Santana addressed her daughter.

"Stevie, I told you not to run away from me! What's going on here, did you do something to that little girl?"

"She started it!" was Stevie's immediate and automatic defense, which only provoked Antonia into even more intense rage.

"I DID NOT! HE DID, HE PULLED MY HAIR, I HATE HIM!"

With that melodramatic exclamation, Antonia pulled her wrist from her mother's grasp and threw herself down bodily to the ground, kicking her feet and flailing her arms in a full on tantrum. Exasperated and more than a little embarrassed, Santana's eyes darted between the boy and man, who were looking on, dumbfounded, and her daughter's wailing form on the floor. Antonia didn't often have tantrums anymore, but when she reached a certain level of being overwhelmed with her usually intense emotions, her resulting behavior could be appalling.

She ignored the two blonde figures nearby, instead kneeling down beside her daughter. She knew better than to talk to Antonia when she was in such a state, so instead she reached to touch her shoulder. Antonia only seemed to shriek louder at this, kicking out at her. Yeah, this was clearly not going to be an easy fix.

She could hear the young man scolding the boy as she attempted to get hold of her daughter firmly enough to pull her up.

"Stevie, is that true? Did you really pull that girl's hair?"

"Yes, but Sammy, she was-"

"No buts, Stevie. You know the way you're supposed to treat girls and women and pulling their hair is definitely not okay. No Captain Crunch for you today."

The man- Sammy?- looked over towards Santana then, giving her an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Stevie knows better than that. I don't know what's gotten into him today. I don't want to make anything worse here, but…can I try talking to the little girl? Sometimes kids hear more from strangers than they do from people they know, the surprise factor or something? I feel bad that he made her cry like this."

"Don't worry about it," Santana sighed, shaking her head. "It wasn't really him. She's just…it's kind of been one of those days, you know?" She waved a somewhat limp hand towards Antonia's still-thrashing form on the floor. "Be my guest, you can try to talk to her, but I warn you, once she gets to this point she kinda goes deaf to anything you have to say to her. Usually you have to let her wind herself down before anything gets through."

Nevertheless, she addressed her daughter one more time, despite her knowledge it was likely hopeless to try. "Toni, come on now. We need to go home. I've got the milk, we can forget everything else for now. Let me help you up and we'll go home."

As she thought she would, Toni ignored her, continuing to cry and kick her feet, though not quite as forcefully as before. Santana raised an eyebrow at the man, as though to point out to him the obvious fact of Toni's irrationality when this upset. The man just gave her a small smile before kneeling down next to Toni. Without any seeming effort in the gesture, he scooped her up, flailing limbs and all, in such a way that her arms were gently pinned down from being able to lash out. Antonia fought him at first, her screeches momentarily growing louder, but he was stronger, and he spoke quietly and close to her ear. Santana couldn't hear him at first, but she watched with something like amazement as her daughter's violent squirming stopped, and her screams gave off to hiccups and sniffles as she actually listened to what he was saying to her.

"There you go, that's right. You can't hear when you make all that noise. Like I said, my name is Sam, and you're Toni, right? Short for Antonia? I really like both those names, they're very pretty, just like you."

Santana continued to watch, disbelieving, as her daughter sniffled again, but actually seemed to lean back into Sam's chest rather than fight him, as she would have done with her. Did this guy have a magic touch or what?

"There you go," Sam said to her again, shifting his hold on her so he could gently pat her back. "I bet you're thirsty after all that yelling. I understand why you were upset, that must have hurt if Stevie pulled your hair. He's my brother, but I take care of him. I'm sorry he pulled your hair, Toni. How about to make it up for you, I buy you an ice cream. But you only get the ice cream if you can stop crying and stop yelling and fighting at your mommy. What do you think? Does that sound fair?"

Antonia regarded him with narrowed eyes, seeming to be assessing this choice. Tears still dripped down her face, but then she nodded and scrubbed one fist under her eyes. She wrapped her arms around Sam's neck, hiding her face against his shoulder, and Santana stared, her eyes wide with near amazement.

" Damn, are you a magician?"

Laughing a little and shaking her head, she reached out for Antonia, meaning to take her from him, but Antonia was still grumpy towards her, as though she now blames her too for Stevie's action, and didn't look up.

Sam smiled down at the little girl now almost snuggled against him, one hand still resting on her back. He lifted his gaze to meet Santana's, and for a moment, his breath caught, and a faint flush came to his cheeks. He had been so caught up in figuring out what exactly it was Stevie had done, and then trying to calm the crying child in his arms, that he had not exactly taken the time to really look at the little girl's mother. And now that he was…well, words to accurately described her were not ones he had in his vocabulary.

The woman was beautiful. Slim yet curvy build, with high cheek bones, perfectly caramel colored skin, long, sleek black hair, and intense dark eyes that seemed bottomless in their depth. Sam knew immediately that he could easily get lost in those eyes, and for the first few seconds he could not make sense of the woman's teasing question to him.

He realized with a start that she was looking at him with the raised eyebrow that she had directed at her daughter moments before, and he gave a faint laugh, shaking his head as he tried to refocus.

"Uh, no, not a magician. I guess I'm sort of good with kids, is all. Maybe because I'm still kind of a kid myself sometimes."

He didn't want to look away from the woman and her oddly mesmerizing gaze, but he made himself look down at the child he was still holding, trying to regroup. The little girl was rather striking herself, resembling her mother. Though her skin was lighter and her eyes were rounder, her chubby little cheeks fuller and her hair wavier, she had the same intense eyes, the slim frame, and he noticed identical dimples in both cheeks.

"Sammy?" Stevie ventured from beside him, and Sam cleared his throat, turning his head to give his brother his attention. "If you're getting ice cream for Toni, can I get some too?"

"Uh, sure," Sam told him, although he knew that he shouldn't be saying yes; Stevie's actions didn't exactly merit ice cream. Turning back to Santana, he smiled. "That is, if it's okay with you. The ice cream, I mean. There's a place in this shopping complex. My treat."

He noticed that Santana's eyes were still on her daughter, as though she too were trying to focus on her rather than him as she spoke.

"I still think you must have magic blood. You don't know my child here. Normally I could ask her if she wants a million dollars, and if she's in the middle of a fit, she'd still scream no."

She reached again for Antonia, but the child snuggled closer to Sam, still ignoring her. Santana rolled her eyes at her but let her stay for the moment, and this time she did meet his gaze as she spoke again.

" I don't know if a certain little girl deserves any ice cream, the way she's been acting today, and definitely I don't know if she won't even acknowledge her mami exists."

At that Antonia looks up fast, eyes wide. She had stuck her thumb in her mouth after Sam picked her up, and she popped it out to reply.

"Ice cream, Mami, please, please, I want it! "

Santana smirked over her head at Sam as she answered.

"You want a lot of things, Toto. But because this man is offering, you can for now."

To Sam she added with a genuine smile, her gaze lingering just a bit longer than necessary on his upper chest and arms, " Thank you. You have some kind of cologne that attracts kids or something?"

"Nah, I've just had to take care of Stevie on my own for a while, guess I'm getting used to it. Kids get tired, kids get rowdy and upset, and things happen….Stevie, put that down," he ordered as he glanced over at the little boy, only to see that he was rolling a can of soup over the floor.

Returning his attention back to Santana, he thought of saying to her that she looked too young to be a mother, but then thought better of it. Maybe she had good genes, or maybe she was as young as she had looked and it wasn't his business to make her uncomfortable over it. Instead he cleared his throat again.

"Well, I'd be happy to take you both for ice cream, it's the least we can do to apologize. I think you've already heard, but I'm Sam Evans and this is Stevie. I know this is Toni, but what is your name?"

"I'm Santana Lopez," Santana told him, as she began, without quite realizing it, to follow Sam, who was still holding Antonia, towards the store's front. "Believe me, I know how it can be, being on your own with a child. It's just me and Antonia too. My mother helps, but…"

She shrugged, letting the rest of the sentence drop, before she addressed her daughter.

"You can have one scoop, Toni, but in a cup, not a cone. She gets really messy with cones," she explained to Sam.

"That's fine…so, Santana. Like the band, huh? It's nice to meet you," Sam told her, seeming to genuinely mean the words, and Santana smiled, returning the sentiment, and was surprised how genuine her own words were.

"It's nice to meet you too."


	2. Chapter 2

For a moment, Santana continued to walk in silence, struck by the man that she was following. It wasn't just the man himself, although he was admittedly being very nice to them, and he was extremely attractive. Blonde hair, natural from the looks of it, cut into a deliberately messy style, bright blue eyes that were a nearly exact match to his younger brother's, and broad shoulders on a clearly athletic build made him rather fun to look at, for sure…and those lips? They were full enough that they were almost girlish in appearance, and Santana found herself looking at them a little more obviously than she would have liked before she tore her eyes away.

"Stop a second, she needs to clean her face off…"

She fished a tissue from her purse and circled around Sam to reach out to her daughter, starting to clean her face with it. Antonia tried to turn her face away, not wanting Santana to make her blow her nose, but Santana insisted.

"Antonia Cristina, you are not getting snot all over this guy because you're being a grouch. Come here."

She finished wiping her daughter off, then, sticking the dirty tissue back in her purse, looked up at Sam again. There was something about the way he was holding Antonia, with such apparent ease, that made Santana's heart clinch. She wasn't sure if it was because of what she wished Antonia had- a strong male figure in her life who loved her, who could be a father in a way Santana never truly could- or because there was something about how he looked, holding Antonia, that somehow seemed right. As though it were the completion of a picture she had never realized was lurking in her thoughts.

Trying to shift her attention back to another matter, she addressed Sam again, thoughts of the milk she was supposed to be getting long gone. "So Stevie is your brother then? Do you take care of him a lot?"

They had exited the grocery door by then, and she didn't fail to notice that Sam hesitated before speaking. He set Antonia, now fully recovered, on her feet, and he waited until she and Stevie were walking several feet ahead of them, seemingly over their anger with each other as they practically skipped towards the ice cream parlor. Then he leaned close to Santana, enough so that his breath stirred her hair and made her shiver as he explained.

"Our parents died last year in a car accident. I'm his guardian now. He knows, but I'm not sure he really understands enough to talk much about it, so it's not something we discuss much."

He saw the softness come into Santana's eyes as she listened, and she reached a hand out impulsively, lightly touching his forearm.

"I'm sorry. That must be hard, to have that put on you all at once like that."

"It is," Sam confessed, and Santana didn't think it was her imagination that he looked down at her hand on his arm and smiled briefly. "But we manage. Stevie knows I love him and he loves me, and that he's what's most important in my life. I almost feel like he is my son in a way, so we make the best of it."

"I can't imagine," Santana shook her head, her expression tensing at the thought. "My mother is so important to both of our lives, she's really all I have outside of Toni. And losing my daughter…"

She shook her head again, resisting the urge to snatch Toni up right then and there and squeeze her until she couldn't breathe, simply because she was there for her to be able to do so. But her brief lapse into empathy was interrupted as the children reached the ice cream parlor's entrance and she heard the taunting voice of her daughter towards Stevie.

"Ha ha, I get to go first 'cause ladies first, and I'm a lady!"

"Not the way you act sometimes, you aren't," Santana muttered, but she needn't have worried about Stevie being at a loss for words.

"Don't make me pull your hair again!" the little boy threatened, as Antonia's eyes grew wide, and she looked up, squawking, at the adults.

"He can't pull my hair!"

"Stevie, pull her hair and you get your video games taken away," Sam informed his brother, whose bottom lip stuck out immediately in response to this.

"No! Don't take them away! Please…"

"Then behave," Sam told him, suppressing a smile as he exchanged looks with Santana over the children's head. There was something about her returning smile, the conspiratorial eye roll shared between them, that spoke more than words; Sam knew that between them, a connection, even a wordless understanding was being forged. At least, he thought so. As though in response to him, Santana spoke to her daughter, though her eyes remained on Sam.

"Antonia, it sounds like you want to have your things taken away too. Hm, should I take away your ponies for being rude to Stevie?"

"No! Mami you are wrong, I do NOT want my ponies taken away!" Antonia cried indignantly, her mouth dropping open.

"Then behave."

As they entered the ice cream parlor, with the children clamoring to look at the flavors available in the case, Sam looked to Santana, asking her first. "What flavor would you like?"

Santana ordered both Antonia and herself a scoop of cookie dough, making sure that the little girl's was in a cup as she had said. Sam ordered Stevie two scoops of chocolate chip, and they ushered the children to sit at a table near the window. She rolled her eyes again as the children jostled for their seat, with Stevie winning out and getting the seat closest to the window, much to Antonia's displeasure. Rolling her eyes good naturedly, she turned to Sam as they too sat across from the children.

"How old is he? Six? Maybe I'm a bad judge of age though, Toni's always been so little."

Antonia looked up indignantly. "Am not little, I'm a big girl, Mami!"

Santana just laughed, ruffling her hair. " Yep, my little big girl."

"I'm five!" Stevie announced proudly. "Sammy says I'm a big boy." He stuck a tongue out at Toni as he announced, "You're littler. You're a tiny midget!"

"You are big for your age," Santana smiled at Stevie, but this faded when he calls her daughter a tiny midget, and Antonia shrieked, dribbling ice cream down her chin.

"I AM NOT TINY I AM BIG!"

Santana exhaled, wiping her daughter's mouth, and then pulled her onto her lap, since Antonia was valiantly trying to kick Stevie under the table.

"Eat your ice cream, big girl."

"Stevie, stop taunting her," Sam said firmly, shaking his head before apologizing to Santana. "I don't know why he's so mouthy today, he's usually better than this."

Antonia calmed down in her lap and stayed there, glowering at Stevie, as Santana attempted to redirect the conversation. "So, are you a student, Sam? Or are you working?"

"No, I'm not anymore. I graduated college and now I'm waiting for call backs from MLB teams. I play baseball. What about you? Do you mind me asking, how old are you actually? You look really young," Sam replied easily, giving both her and the sulky Antonia in her lap a smile.

"College boy, huh? And a player too? " Santana laughed, giving teasing innuendo to this. " I'm taking online classes, just got back into school. And I'm 21. I work part time at a day care, gets this one in free. "

Stevie made a face at Toni and stuck his tongue out again, interrupting the adult conversation.

"She's kicking me Sammy! It hurts!"

Sam was truly getting a headache now. "Well, you need to stop taunting her. She wouldn't be kicking you if you stop."

Stevie continued to pout. " I knew it you like her more than you like me… "

Sam felt bad now, so he turned his brother so that they were looking at each other.

" That's not true. You're my best friend, remember? Don't be mad at me. How about tomorrow, if you're good, you can get Captain Crunch after all."

That made Stevie perk up.

"Can I have that for dinner?"

Sam shook his head. "No, but you can have it for breakfast."

He went back to his conversation with Santana, nodding in response to her.

"Yeah, and I'm a player, but not the kind you think I am….so you're 21 and a mother, and you have your life figured out. That's really impressive."

"You know what I really like? Kids that know how to sit and eat ice cream without kicking or screaming or calling each other names. Now that really would be a dream come true," Santana said sarcastically, keeping Antonia in her lap as she tried to eat her own ice cream while keeping her in place. To Sam, she stated with raised eyebrows, "Hot guy with lips like yours, not a player? Right, just like I believe you don't dye your hair….and now I know you're a player, because you saying my life is all figured out is a a totally bullshit comment." She laughed, even as Antonia spoke up seriously and seemingly without irony.

"You said a bad word, Mami! And that isn't a dream, Mami, that's real. See how I'm not kicking and screaming and calling names?"

Santana had to laugh at this, kissing the top of her head. "Yeah, at this exact moment. Lucky me."

"No, seriously, I'm not a player, I don't have to be, watching out for Stevie," Sam protested, "I really do think you have it all figured out. And I don't dye my hair…wait, you think I'm hot?"

Stevie was tugging at Sam's arm, whining again. "Toni kicked me. She gave me a bruise. And that lady said a bad word. Can I say it too?"

"Nice, try, but no," Sam cut Stevie's request off in the bud, shaking his head firmly. "And you'll be fine, Stevie, Evans men are tough.

"I bet I did leave a bruise. I'm strong and tough and I can kick super hard," Antonia grinned, squirming on Santana's lap as Santana scolded her.

"Antonia Cristina, you don't brag because you hurt someone. You should be apologizing."

Antonia looked up at her, again serious. "But what if I'm not sorry, Mami? That would be a lie."

Santana's lips twitched again as she tried not to laugh at her, looking quickly at Sam.

"Yeah, you're hot, I said it, didn't I? Like you don't know it. Please, you probably got this "I'm just a humble hardworking dude watching my kid brother" act down pat. I bet you rent him for the weekends just to score some ladies." She was teasing, Sam could tell; he could see the glint in her eyes. "Right. Right, I got it all figured out, that's why I had this one when I was still a kid myself, because I'm brilliant at figuring out life plans."

Sam opened his mouth, intending to answer, but the children quickly derailed any effort at an adult conversation. Still in her mother's lap, Antonia spoke up, pointing at Stevie with ice cream dribbling down her chin.

"Know what? Stevie Evans is a meanie and a poopyhead and I don't like him at all. But his daddy is nice."

"Antonia!" Santana said severely, squeezing her leg, as Stevie piped up indignantly.

" He's my brother, dummy. And you're the poopyhead."

"I AM NOT A POOPYHEAD OR A DUMMY! I am very smart and YOU are smelly and you have big ears!" Antonia retorted, indignant.

"You are too! I am not smelly and my ears aren't big, stupidhead!"

"I AM NOT! I AM NOT AND I AM TELLING IF YOU SAY THAT AGAIN YOU BOOGER NOSE!"

Both adults' stern intonation of the children's names was entirely ignored as they continued their heated argument.

"I am not a BOOGER NOSE! And go run to your mommy and cry again. CRY BABY!" Stevie said gleefully, smirking.

"You are too a booger nose! And a farty pants! And I am too gonna tell but I am not a crybaby! MR SAMMMMM STEVIE IS CALLING ME NAMES!" Antonia nearly hollered, pointing at Stevie dramatically.

"Antonia!" Santana hissed, her cheeks staining red as she became aware that literally every other person in the building was staring at her and her child- who had of course started all this. "Calm down NOW."

"Oh yeah? Well you're a poopy pants and you poop in your sleep!" Stevie told Antonia, clearly pleased with his own wit.

For Antonia, this was a huge insult. She burst into crocodile tears, lifting her arms out to Sam as though she wanted him to take her rather than her mother.

"I DO NOT POOP IN MY SLEEP! SAMMMMMM SAMMMM! Do not poop in my sleep.I poop on the toilet like a big girl. Mami tell him I poop on the toilet like a big girl!"

"Steven Evans!" Sam snapped his fingers in front of Stevie, causing him to blink, but the little boy kept on regardless, wanting the last word.

"You do too! And it stinks. Poopy Pants… Poopy Pants… "

"I DO NOT! YOU ARE THE STINKY POOPY PANTS! Mami! Sammy! Mamiiii I am not a stinky poopy pants…." Toni was sobbing, turning around to bury her face in her mother's chest. Exhaling in exasperation, Santana patted her back, shaking her head.

"You started this, Antonia. But no, you aren't a poopy pants, and I'm glad because it would suck to clean up after you."

"Stevie, sit still and be quiet, why are you having such a hard time being a good boy today?" Sam asked him, shaking his head.

"I was being a good boy," Stevie told him, seeming honestly surprised that Sam thought otherwise. "She's just a cry baby. I bet she even sucks her thumb like a baby."

Antonia howled louder at this, all the more outraged because when she is tired or upset she sometimes still does suck her thumb.

"I AM NOT A BABY YOU STUPID PENIS FACE!" she hollered, lifting her head from Santana's chest to declare this.

Santana couldn't help it at this. She burst out laughing, especially at Sam's horrified expression, which only made Antonia more upset. Her daughter turned her glare in her mother's direction, now addressing her every bit as grouchily.

"Stop laughing at me Mami!"

"I'm not a penis face!" Stevie shot back, pointing at Antonia. "You are!"

"This one just learned about what the body parts are called," Santana explained to Sam, still trying not to laugh. " Apparently, that's a terrible insult, but being called a poopy pants or fart face is worse."

Stevie, not ready to let this insult die down, tugged at his brother's arm. "You going to let her talk to me like that, Sam? She's not being a good girl!"

Sam was trying not to laugh as he responded to his brother.

" I told you to stop taunting her, she's just reacting."

Sam looked at Toni and said in a gentle tone, "It's not nice to call people names, Toni. You both need to stop."

Sniffling against her mother's shoulder, Antonia hid her face, eating up the fact that she had this attention now, but actually having managed to work herself up into being genuinely upset too. Santana patted her back, even as she kept speaking to her, having stopped laughing.

"Antonia, I highly doubt you were innocent in this. If you called Stevie names, he's going to call you names back."

Antonia mumbled grumpily against her, but looked over at Sam after. She regarded him, blinking, and popped her thumb in her mouth. Then, realizing that Stevie might be watching, she hurriedly removed it. Seeing that no apology was coming any time soon, Santana signed, looking past her to Sam.

"Something tells me that this one needs to get home for a N-A-P. So…you feel like maybe having a conversation together some other time, preferably where the kids aren't around to turn it into an insult war?"

She was relieved when the young man's face broke into a goofy grin, and he nodded immediately, even as he reached for his brother's hand.

"You got it." As he scribbled out his number on a napkin, instructing Santana to text, then collected his brother with a final goodbye and wave, Santana found herself watching the two exit, and even as she gathered her grumpy little girl into the car to go, her thoughts didn't leave Sam for long.


	3. Chapter 3

Santana knew that there was supposed to be a three day wait rule on any contact made to a potential romantic interest in between dates…if they could call their initial encounter a date, given the circumstances. Still, she found herself thinking of Sam and his little brother so often over the next day and a half that she found herself on the verge of giving in the very next day. She was relieved when the phone rang the following evening and Sam's name lit it up, ending her own dilemma. Keeping a watchful eye on her daughter, who was busy coloring on the kitchen table as they waited for their dinner to finish heating up in the oven, Santana picked up.

"Hello?"

"Santana? Hey. It's Sam. If you didn't put my number in yet. You know, Sam with Stevie?"

"Right, hey," Santana said, trying to keep her voice nonchalant, even as she felt her heartbeat quicken and a smile come over her face. "How's it going?"

"Oh, it's good, just practiced playing catch with Stevie and we'll be eating soon. He's getting better with it, but he can still use some work. How are things in the Lopez residence?"

"Oh, it's a proud day here, Sam, Toni learned how to tie her shoes, and she is absolutely thrilled with herself," Santana laughed a little, more at herself than at Toni. Why the hell was she holding the phone so tightly, as if it would bring her closer to him?

Hearing Sam's name, Toni's head perked up, and she beamed, giving an excited wiggle in her seat before she jumped up, hugging her mother's leg. "Mami! Is that Mr. Sam?"

"It is," her mother confirmed, reaching down to smooth a hand over the top of her daughter's head.

"I wanna talk to him!" Toni said enthusiastically, and she was speaking loudly enough that Sam too could hear.

Giving a laugh, he said to Santana, "Sure, give her the phone a minute, I'd love to talk to her too."

Santana couldn't help but smile as she watched her daughter's face beam with pride as she handed her the phone. As Toni spoke into it hesitantly, Santana leaned close, wanting to hear what Sam had to say.

"Toni! How are you doing today, beautiful lady? I heard that you learned to tie your shoe string. I'm impressed."

"HI!" Toni trilled, giving a wiggle of excitement at his compliment. "I am doing very awesome! I'm very smart and my fingers only got a little messed up! When can we get ice cream again?! I bet Stevie can't tie his shoes good as me!"

"I can see that you are very smart. You should be very proud, I know your mom is," Sam told her, and Santana could hear the smile in his voice. "You have to ask your mom that question about ice cream. I'm fine with whenever… Stevie's already tying his own shoes. He's a big boy and big boys tie their own shoes."

"Here, give me the phone back now, baby," Santana said to Toni, taking the phone back to her own ear. Her daughter stayed close, seeming to want to listen too as she addressed Sam. "She's really taken with you. You sure you don't wear some kind of cologne that smells like ice cream too, to reel in the little kids? And yeah, I just realized how totally wrong that sounds."

Sam laughed again, shaking his head, and the sound sent a shiver down Santana's spine. "Yeah, just a little bit it does. I'm glad she likes me. I think Stevie might have a little bit of a crush on you too. He couldn't stop talking about you."

"Oh, yeah? You mean you got some competition?" Santana asked playfully. She looked down at her daughter, who was pulling at her arm again, pointing at the phone . "Toni's tugging at me for the phone again, hang on a sec."

"Sam I wanna go get ice cream today," Toni announced once she had the phone in her grasp again. "Can we? Sam, aren't I a big girl 'cause I'm tying shoes even though they fell off a little? I'm still a big girl, right? As big as Stevie. Bigger!"

Santana tried not to snort at this. Not even waiting for Sam's answer, she reached down again.

"Okay, okay, Antonia, phone back…a five year old has a crush on me, huh? Or is that your way of saying YOU do, blaming it on the kid? …Toni, stop tugging at me, what?"

"I got something very important to tell Sam," Antonia said insistently, stopping her tugging, but not releasing her mother's leg from her grasp. "I just wanna say one super important thing and that's all."

Santana heaved a sigh, addressing Sam again in the phone. "Okay, she says she has something very important to tell you…brace yourself, is all I gotta say, 'cause the last time she said that she threw up on my feet and that was what she had to say."

Giving the phone back to her daughter, she waited, curious in spite of herself. But nothing could have prepared her for Antonia's important announcement then.

"Mr Sam I wanna say you should be my daddy now!"

She didn't wait for him to answer, instead just smiling proudly and handing the phone back to her mother. It took Santana a few moments to actually take hold of it with a hand she could be assured wouldn't drop it.

"Uh…sorry about that…um, you know, she's four, and she hasn't had a dad, so just…yeah, ignore that. She's four, right?"

"I…uh, can't say that didn't surprise me," was Sam's more than slightly taken aback response. "But it's okay. She's a kid, and, well, it's hard for kids to grow up without a daddy."

"It would have been harder if she had a sucky dad that didn't help out or spend time with her or didn't treat her right, so don't feel sorry for her. She has me and I love her more than anyone else ever would," Santana countered, immediately defensive.

Maybe she was too sensitive; her mother had said as much, over the years. But she hated it any time someone made remarks about her poor daughter, with only a mother to raise her. How could they make it a bigger deal that her shitty father wasn't involved, then the fact that her mother who loved her was?

"Hey, I wasn't saying that anything was wrong with being a single parent," Sam said gently, hearing her tone. "I'm one myself and this is to my little brother, but you know kids…They want to fit in and she probably sees that her friends have two parents instead of one and she wants that. Can you blame her for wanting that?"

Santana went quiet as she thought about this. She knew that Sam was right. Toni seemed to have lost interest in this more serious turn of conversation and was wandering back to her coloring as she spoke.

"I don't like to think about her wanting that or feeling different. I'm doing the best I can."

"She does," Sam told her quietly. " I can tell that she's a happy little girl. Don't be too hard on yourself. I've heard that frowning could lead to wrinkles. You don't want to look 30 when you're only 21."

"Hey!" Santana protested, knowing that he was trying to lighten the mood and deciding to play into the banter. "I will NEVER look 30. Unless I'm 50. Then I might look 25. You're the one who should watch your facial expressions, one day those humongous lips of yours might end up stretched out to your ear."

"Hey, no mocking of the mouth!" Sam laughed, but she could tell he wasn't upset. " Just so you know, I've been told I have sexy lips….but you, just so you know, if you keep frowning and being sad, you're going to look older than you are . And I know just the way to make you start smiling and being happy, at least for one night."

"Who told you that your lips are sexy, Angelina Jolie? Mick Jagger?" Santana laughed, realizing that she was almost cradling the phone, to her own annoyance, but she didn't adjust her stance. "Oh, you think you can do that for me, huh, make me smile? Is this gonna be one of those typical male assertions here 'cause I do have a four year old across the table."

Toni looked up at the mention of her, calling out "Hi Sam!" again as though to prove this.

"Well….tempting as that is, what I mean is our meeting. The one we said should happen. I happen to be free tonight, and I know it's short notice, but if you wanted…"

He trailed off, waiting for her response. Santana felt her heartbeat spike up slightly as she tried to control the broadness of her smile.

"Sure. I can drop Toni off at my mami's, I guess. Seven?"

As they wrapped up the conversation, and Santana turned her attention back to her daughter and thoughts of the preparations she would have to make for the night, she couldn't quite stop her smile.

88

Santana took longer than she would have ever been comfortable admitting getting ready for her date. Incredible as it seemed to her, it had actually been almost a full year since she last went on a real one. She was glad that she had dropped Antonia off with her mother so the little imp wouldn't be buzzing around asking why she was getting so fancy and drop yet ANOTHER comment about him being her new daddy. Finally satisfied with how she looked, having chosen a snug, slightly short dress and straightened her hair, she waited impatiently for Sam to arrive, trying not to pace or fiddle too much with herself

Sam was actually a little nervous about this date. When was the last time he actually went out with a girl? He didn't do it in college because of the responsibilities he had caring for Stevie.

" Wow, I haven't been on a date since High School… "

He blew out a breath and let out a slight laugh on the drive over to Santana's. His palms were sweating, heart beating a thousand miles a minute when he got there.

"Okay you need to calm down or you're going to pass out for real."

He spent the next five minutes taking huge breaths and blowing the air out, talking to himself in an effort to psyche himself up to go to her front door. When he was a bit more relaxed, he walked out of his car and to her door where he pressed the doorbell and waited with a smile that he hoped didn't look too creepy. As Santana opened the door, Sam's smile immediately became more relaxed, and he swallowed again before greeting her.

"Hey…um, you look really beautiful… This is for you." He shoved the bouquet he had chosen in the last minute in her face rather quickly, narrowly grazing her pretty face. Flushing, he swallowed again. "Sorry…"

The first thing Santana saw was his lips; regardless of what she said to him to tease, they are mad hot to her. Her eyes traveled down, taking in the rest of him, and she smiled, reaching for the flowers with some surprise.

" Uh…you need to drop these off at a cemetery on our way first or something?" She wasn't really trying to give him a hard time. It was just that no one had ever given her flowers before.

 _God, Sam stop being a klutz._

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he feels his cheeks burning.

"They're not for anyone in the cemetery. They're for you."

"Well aren't you the gentleman," Santana smiled, toying with one of the petals. " Glad to hear you don't want to give them to dead people, I always thought romancing the dead was kinda necro."

She accepted the flowers, smelling them, and as she smelled them took the opportunity to hide her huge grin in their blooms. Putting them in a vase and plucking one out to give to Antonia, she turned back to him.

"Ready. What, no red carpet rolled out for my benefit?"

"No. Alas, I am but a poor blond. I can't afford the red carpet kind of date yet, but you might be getting your wish once I go pro."

He winked at her and put his right hand to the small of her back, to help usher her along. Santana felt a faint shiver run up her spine at Sam's touch, trying to fight from letting him see this second smile. When they got to his car, he opened the door for her and stepped back.

"Your chariot awaits, m'lady. "

Turning to face him, Santana teased, "Chariot? Looks like a boring old car to me. And here I was thinking I was special enough you went back to friggin' old ages to get me a sweet ride."

"Hey, don't mock my ride. It's bitchin' ." Realizing how ridiculous that sounded, Sam laughed again. "Note to self, never use the word bitchin' again…you will just have to deal with my boring old car. I ain't made out of money, you know… Now get in so we can get to the other part of this boring date."

"BITCHING?" Santana burst out laughing, shaking her head as she got into the car. "Do you know how white you are when you say that….come on, Vanilla Ice, let's see if we can liven things up."

"I'm a white boy, what do you expect…." Sam laughed, closing the passenger door, even as he heard Santana's retort.

"You could try shouting it out just a little less proudly with your actions, just sayin'."

Sam laughed again, taking the teasing in stride as he got into the driver's seat and pulled out of the driveway. "Another note to self, no wannabe gangsta words…so how was your day?"

Santana made a face, scrunching her nose as she replied, pulling at the hem of her skirt slightly. Sam's eyes drifted to her legs immediately at the gesture.

"Day was okay. One of the kids puked at work so I'm just praying Toni doesn't get it, because she is absolute torture when she's sick. How was yours?"

Sam pulled a face in sympathy. " Ugh… That must have been a mess. I hope she doesn't get sick too. I know how Stevie is when he's sick. He's worse then a baby. My day was pretty good. Got to spend some time with my uncle and Stevie. He's been like a father to us ever since our parents death. If he wasn't in the Army he would have taken custody of Stevie, but I think things worked out perfectly in the end."

"God, Toni is a baby too when she's sick. She cries all the time and wants me to hold her constantly, and she won't sleep. And god forbid I leave the room to go to the bathroom or something, you would think I was dumping her off at the side of the road." Santana laughed, shaking her head at her memories. "I hate to see her miserable though, so even though she is such a little terror I can't help babying her." As she listened to Sam talking about his uncle, she smiled, glad to hear that he had someone for support. "That's cool. I'm pretty close to my mami, she helps me a lot with Toni."

"It sounds a lot like Stevie and Toni are the same, they're both whiny when their sick," Sam agreed. He got quiet for a moment, remembering, before he spoke his thoughts out loud. " Stevie would always call out to our parents when he's sick. So I try to be his security blanket."

Noticing his sad look, Santana reached to touch his shoulder on instinct, her expression soft. When Sam cleared his throat, speaking up again, she let him change the subject without comment.

" It's great that you have a supportive mom. I wouldn't know what to do if my uncle wasn't in our lives. My parents came from the East Coast and the only relatives they have here is my uncle."

They arrived at the restaurant then, and as Sam went to park the car, he looked to his left and smiled. "Looks like we're here. Ready to be awed by my non fancy restaurant of choice?"

Getting out of the car, Santana smiled back, holding out her arm to him.

"A true gentleman escorts a lady."

"If an escort is what you want, an escort you shall get."


	4. Chapter 4

Sam smirked at her answer and got out of the car, running around to her side and going to grab her hand. He felt the electricity buzzing between them and couldn't stop smiling. She had expected him to link arms, not hold her hand, and a thrill ran through her skin.

They entered the restaurant, and he told the hostess that they had reservations and was showed to a table straight away. Santana pulled away slowly as they sat, giving him a genuine smile as he spoke.

"I hope you like Chinese food. You look like you enjoy all types of cuisines, so I took a risk."

" I look like I enjoy all kinds of cuisines, huh? Is that a polite way of calling me fat?" Santana smirked, teasing, but Sam gasped, looking horrified at the idea that she might believe this to be his meaning.

"No! How could you think I would think that? I mean, look at you… I just meant that some people don't like to explore their horizons. I know of people who only eat steak and potatoes, so I didn't want to assume…."

Santana laughed again, holding up both her hands as though to calm him. "Down, boy, I'm playing. You will find that I very much enjoy teasing." She licked her lips insinuatively at this, raising an eyebrow. What the hell, he was fun to play with, and it had been so long since she really felt like doing this with a man.

Sam let out a sigh. " Oh thank God… I didn't want you being pissed off for something I didn't mean to say."

He saw her licking her lips and bit his bottom lip, silently thinking 'why is she trying to torture me?' Then he picked up the menu and changed the subject.

" What would you like to have?"

"On this menu, or…" Santana let her voice pick up the insinuative tone again, grinning, before backing off at Sam's trapped expression. "This looks good. So, you ever dated a Latina girl before? 'Cause sexual teasing, it's sorta what we do."

Relieved when she dropped the tone, Sam took a breath, looking up at her over the menu. "No, I'm not big on dating. This is the first date I've gone on since high school….so Latinas love to tease? That's good to know…" He smirked, trying to give a returning look of his own, but not sure if he just looked like he had something caught in his eye.

Santana's jaw dropped and this time it wasn't in teasing.

"You're shitting me. You've got the California surf dude thing going, no way girls don't eat that up? What's wrong with you then?"

"No, not kidding…" Sam shrugged, a little uncomfortable. "I guess I didn't make the time. I hope nothing's wrong with me?"

"Didn't make the time? It ain't like learning a new language or going to the Bahamas." Realizing even after she said it that she herself had not been in a relationship since Antonia, Santana frowned slightly. Sam didn't seem to notice this, or if he did, he took it to mean she was judging him still.

"Well, you know, it takes time to be in a relationship…"

Trying to lighten up her accusing tone, Santana winked, referring back to her previous statement. "We tease, us Latinas, just so you know, but you'll be glad to know we also please."

She watched Sam swallow again, his eyes dropping to her collar bone. "What time of pleasing are you talking about? "

Santana leaned towards him, offering an improved view of her breasts as her dress gaped slightly. "I bet you make good guesses…"

His gaze landed on her perky breasts and flushed. " I don't know about that…" Realizing that his gaze was still on her breasts, Sam cleared his throat hurriedly, tearing his eyes back up to her face. "Um, so, how m any relationships have you been in since Toni?"

Santana paused. "Well, I'd say maybe eight… minus eight."

She let this sink in, eyeing his reaction as she sat back up slowly.

Sam was lost in his own world. All he could see in his thoughts were her perfect breasts heaving in that sexy bra. 'Stop it. She's going to think you're a pervert!'

That brought some sense back into his mind. He blinked a little and then looked at her face, realizing that she had been speaking.

" Huh? What did you say?"

Santana didn't fail to miss the dreamy, mesmerized look on Sam's face. She burst out laughing, more than a little pleased that when she tried, or even when she wasn't, really, she's still got it.

" I know you don't do relationships, but surely you see boobs every now and then. Not my awesome boobs, obviously, but boobs."

"Umm… "

Sam felt lost. What should he say to that? 'Better not say anything and make himself look like an even bigger pervert.

"So… anyway, how about them Cubs huh? They're actually doing well this season. I'm impressed."

Still grinning, Santana shook her head at him. " I don't know if I should ruffle your hair, kick you under the table, or give you a hug. Worst subject change attempt ever."

"A hug would be greatly appreciated," Sam smiled, finally relaxing a little. "And hey, don't mock baseball. That's what I'm good at. It's what I want to do for a living, if a team would pick me up."

"Of course you pick the choice where you can feel my tits," Santana laughed, shaking her head again. "You wanting to cash in now or save up?" Getting more serious again, she tilted her head. "No one will pick you up? What position are you?"

"Do you really have to ask me that question? I'm really afraid to answer you though. You might slap me," Sam bantered back, feeling braver now. "Not saying that they won't, the wait just feels long that's all. I'm a pitcher, but I also bat."

"Oh, you look like the kind of dude that likes it a little rough," Santana laughed, still teasing. "You'd probably enjoy that slap….and I thought everyone in baseball bats?"

"How about no. No one wants to be slapped." Sam laughed, still shaking his head. "Not all. Some of them are terrible batters."

"You just haven't been slapped right." Santana winked again, still teasing.

Just then the waitress passed by, and Sam waved her over to place their orders. After the waitress had left, Santana looked back at him, raising an eyebrow.

" So how many times have you been offered green eggs and ham and called Sam-I am?"

"Too many times," Sam laughed, shaking his head. "It's ridiculous if you ask me. I mean, do I look like I like Dr Seuss?"

"Nope, you look like…a muppet!" Santana laughed, sticking out her tongue playfully.

"Tease." Sam stuck out his tongue out in retaliation, as Santana took it up another notch.

"I tease and I please and I could make a rhyme about doing it on my knees, but it's a first date and I do have some boundaries." She was laughing, but she noticed then that Sam had a more serious look on his face, even before he spoke.

"Why don't you date, Santana? All joking aside. You're gorgeous. I highly doubt that you're not getting offers left and right."

Santana was slow to answer, and her express became as serious as his as she played with her napkin, her voice more guarded as she responded.

"I have a daughter. She's more important to me than going to the movies or making out or casual sex. I'm not letting just anyone come into her life. So I haven't focused on it."

Suddenly, the playfulness between them stopped and Sam could feel Santana's seriousness. He reached for her hand and stroked the back of it with his thumb, wanting on impulse to give her some sort of reassurance.

"Hey… I get it. I have Stevie, remember? It's hard for us because of them. Sometimes, it's really embarrassing that I am unlike any other 22 year old men out there, but I wouldn't change anything because Stevie is my little brother and I love him."

Santana looked down at Sam's hand on hers, her skin tingling slightly at his touch. She twined her fingers with his, measuring the difference in size of their hands, and smiled at him, glad he genuinely understood.

"Yeah. She's my baby. Anyone who's ever going to be in my life has to know that."

Sam felt something that he has never felt before as Santana entwined their fingers together. He couldn't pinpoint what it was, all he knew was that he didn't feel alone, somehow. Not with her fingers in his.

"I get it." He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb again as he spoke. "Just like Stevie is my number one priority. But from what I can tell, Santana, you are doing a great job. Toni loves you. She's a little hard to handle, but she's cute. Reminds me a lot of Stevie, except for I'm a little more inclined to do what she wants than what Stevie wants."

Santana's smile became soft as she let Sam stroke her hand. She kept it under his, her eyes on his as she replied.

"She's my mini me. According to my mami, anyway. And she likes you. You really got a soft spot for little girls, don't you?"

"I can see that she is. Especially the teasing quality," Sam smirked a little. "Yeah, though, I guess I do have that. Not only girls though, I'm generally a sucker for kids."

"Do you ever want any of your own? I think about it sometimes, more kids. Not any time soon, but some day."

"Yeah, I would like to have some. I was always lonely growing up and wanted more siblings, who knows, maybe when I get picked up by a league, I can actually make that dream a reality," Sam admitted, shrugging his shoulders. " You should have more kids, it would be shame to let Toni be the only child."

"Yeah, especially since she would only get more spoiled rotten with age. Gotta show her she's not the only person in this universe who will ever get my attention," Santana laughed, rolling her eyes. "Try convincing her now. I was an only child too and it kind of sucked, I never had anyone to blame anything on."

Sam laughed with her. " It's going to be tough to get her to learn to share her mommy's attention, but she'll learn. You're preaching to the choir about the blame thing as a kid though, because I have the same problems. All of my friends have siblings who can cover for them and blame thing on. My parents didn't have Stevie until I was 17. I feel cheated somehow."

"Hey, you can blame him big time though!" Santana protested, laughing. " He's a little kid, he can be blamed and not even get in trouble. Who would I blame things on, my imaginary friend? I tried that, Abuela wasn't too impressed."

"He was a baby when I was a senior," Sam explained, laughing. "What kind of a jerk would I be if I let my 1 year old brother take the blame for my mistakes? But you're right, at least I have someone to pass the blame on, you don't even have that. Did you really try to blame your imaginary friend?" He laughed again, picturing an all too innocent little Santana point to thin air in an effort to blame.

"Yeah I did," Santana confirmed. "Her name was Lila. She was quite the little brat, apparently."

As the food arrived, Sam let go of Santana's hand reluctantly. Santana had barely realized that she was still holding hands with Sam. It felt natural, like an extension of her own. She looked down at it, startled, and then gave a slightly shy smile, not her usual one. She considered making a comment about him feeding her but then flushed at her own ridiculous thought, shaking her head at herself and laughing slightly.

"Stop infecting me," she said aloud.

Sam had already dug into his food, but hearing her speak, looked up, quirking an eyebrow. "Stop infecting you with what? My charm? That's hard to do. I've been told that I was born with charm." He batted his lashes at her and broke out laughing.

"Your dorkiness, obviously. I think that's what you mean by charm." Santana laughed again, starting to eat. "I bet you're a total Trekkie. Or is it Star Wars? You geeks don't seem capable of liking both equally."

"I am not a dork. I'm charming…and I don't know what you're talking about. What's a Trekkie and I've never seen Star Wars before." Sam kept up the facade for a few seconds before he gave up, his lips twitching. "All right, I'll tell you. I'm a huge Avatar nerd. I even learned some Na'vi."

"Charming is a strange euphemism for dork…." Upon hearing Sam's confession, Santana burst out laughing, actually putting down her fork to gawk at him. "NO. Have you painted yourself blue?!"

"Haha. Laugh it up. But just so we're clear, chicks dig the blue paint," Sam laughed.

"YOU DID!" Santana was guffawing now, not even trying to look cool about it. "What, they love it because it's the edible kind and you're having kinky avatar fun or something?!"

"Body paint! Now why didn't I think of that? I would have gotten lucky at Comic Con….okay, maybe they don't, but whatever. I still love Avatar. Don't tell me you don't have a secret obsession with something because I can see it in your cute face that you do."

Santana's laughter cut short at that, and she attempted to look nonchalant as she shook her head.

"Nope, not me. Everything I do is cool."

"I don't believe you. There has to be something. C'mon, admit it. I won't judge…" Sam was leaning forward, making his best puppy dog eyes.

"No way," Santana shook her head, but it was playful, not quite adamant. "Nope, ain't falling for that. I am not being swept into your geek web."

"Oh c'mon, you can tell me… " Sam batted his eyelashes in a goofy manner, clasping his hands under his chin. "Pretty please…"

"Fine." Santana mock scowled, sighing dramatically. back at him. "Xena…Buffy…X Files…" she paused, her cheeks flushing as she dropped her voice to a mutter, " and…maybe Sweet Valley Twins. And…maybe Hello Kitty. "

"Ah hah! I knew it!" Sam laughed, pointing a triumphant finger in her direction. "You, Santana Lopez, are a secret geek. No judgment here, as long as you don't tell the world about my secret obsession with Avatar. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal."

Santana reached out to take his hand to shake, more for the excuse to touch than anything. Sam shook Santana's hand and took the opportunity to caress the back of it a little too long before letting go and began to eat again.

Santana knew she had a goofy smile on her face when Sam pulled away, but she couldn't control it. Every time Sam smiled at her Santana couldn't help but smile back. She knew her whole face was probably glowing by the time she finished eating, and she didn't even care anymore.

Sam's breath hitched as their eyes locked, then his gaze slid down to Santana's lips and the tongue that was peeking out at him. She's trying to kill me…

He could only nod as she told him that she was ready to leave. Forcing his eyes away from her, and those sexy lips, he told the waitress that they were ready for the check. She pulled the bill out, giving it to him, and he handed her two twenty dollar bills, enough to cover both the meal and tip. After the waitress left, he put his attention back at Santana.

"Are you ready to go?"

She was more than ready. Standing, she held out her arm again, playful, but there was seriousness in her eyes.

"Lady needs her escort again?"

"Of course she does."

Sam took her hand, lacing their fingers together before walking out of the restaurant and back to his car. He opened the door for her.

"Ladies first."

Santana kept hold of his hand, reluctant to let go. When she slipped into the car, she looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. "So…is this night over now or…?"

Sam went to the driver's seat, the tension between them thick. Her question had him biting his lower lips nervously before he replied.

" I don't want it to be." He eyed her lips, wondering if she would be offended if he kissed her. "Do you want it to be?"

"No…"

Her eyes were on his lips too and she licked hers unconsciously. Sam was unsure what he should do. Every instinct in his body was telling him to grab hold of her face and kiss her lips, but he didn't want to get slapped for being too forward. This was after all only their first date. He didn't even pay attention to what she was saying anymore as his gaze locked on her luscious lips and all the hesitation inside of him melted away as her tongue peeked out to wet her lips. Without thinking twice, he reached for her face, cupping her cheeks and kissed her passionately.

Santana didn't hesitate. The moment Sam's lips covered hers she leaned into him, fingers twining in his hair and gripping hard as she kissed back just as intently. Her tongue caressed his, and she moaned slightly as sharp tingling feelings swept through her spine and up her scalp. She couldn't remember the last time she's felt this way so fast.

Sam hadn't kissed a girl since high school. He hadn't thought about it or even missed it until now. Now that he was kissing Santana, he felt like he was somehow awakened. Jolts of electricity and desire shot through his system as the kiss progressed. After a while, he felt the strain in his neck due to the awkward positioning of his body, but he couldn't pull away. If this was going to stop, then she was going to have to be the one to do it because he had no intention of detaching his lips from hers.

Santana was not stopping it. It's been well over a year since she even gave a guy a peck good night, and definitely she's done nothing like this. Leaning over the console between their seats, she was awkwardly leaned so she was half in Sam's lap, but she didn't care. She looped one arm around his neck, trying to support herself and pulling him closer.

Any expectation of Santana stopping the kiss went out the window as she moved even closer to him. It was an awkward position for the both of them, so feeling a little bolder now, Sam pulled her fully onto him, letting her rest her whole weight on his lap. His arms went around her waist, and although he wanted to explore every curve of her body, he kept his hands there. He was able to deepened the kiss in this position, and that–for now–was enough for him.

With the short skirt she was wearing, riding up her legs, Santana's bare skin now had quite a lot of contact against Sam's legs, even if they were covered by his pants. Twisting her torso, half straddling, she dug her nails slightly into his neck, scratching its skin as she opened and closed her mouth against his, lightly sucking on his lower lip and nipping it. She took the hand pressed against her waist and pressed it down harder against her skin.

Sam was lost in a sea of lust and desire. He could feel his member hardening with each lick and nip of her lips. This make out session was slowly getting out of hand, yet for the life of him, he couldn't pull away. Instead, he pulled her even closer and caressed the skin that she exposed for him.

"You're so soft…" he whispered before putting his attention back onto her lips.

Santana could feel Sam's hardness against her thigh, but it didn't make her want to roll her eyes like it normally might. Instead, her panties were actually getting damp in response to him. The muscles of her thighs twitched in response to his caresses, and she was breathing fast, beginning to drag her lips down his neck.

Sam was having a hard time breathing, not in a bad way, but in a 'this make out session is so hot, I swear I'm going to explode in my pants' kind of way. He really needed to pull back and stop, but the moment her lips reached the sweet spot on his neck, all reasoning flew out the window again.

"Shit… "

Hearing Sam's hissed word and feeling his body tense beneath hers, Santana took in a shaky breath, knowing that she needed to cool them both down if they didn't want some serious pants actions to be happening soon. Well, she did want it, but that was sort of the problem, considering they were in the car in public and her daughter was waiting for her at home. Reluctantly, with one last kiss to his neck, she pulled back, her chest heaving, swallowing heavily as she tried to regain control. But then she broke out into a dimpled grin, giggling, and buried her face in his chest.

"God…"

Sam was really relieved that Santana had stopped them. He didn't have the strength to do that. He was surprised that Santana was giggly after that. It was cute and it made his attraction towards her multiply. Not knowing what to say or do, he put his hand on her head and started to swipe back her hair, playing with the strands.

"You're a good kisser, Tana, and I think you can agree that I'm a good one too. These big lips come in handy sometimes…"

No one called Santana Tana. She was surprised how much she liked it, but then, what didn't she like about Sam right now? She enjoyed his playing with her hair, giving another pleasurable shiver in response as she relaxed against him.

"I bet…and I bet I can just keep finding new and awesome uses for them."

Reluctantly she pulls back, sliding back onto her seat. She caught Sam's slightly breathless smile, and as he drove her home, she too couldn't keep from smiling.


	5. Chapter 5

When Santana arrived home from her date with Sam, still glowing slightly despite her efforts at nonchalance, Antonia was, as she had known she would be, still awake, despite the fact that it was considerably past her bed time. Maribel Lopez greeted Santana with a shrug and an eye roll as her daughter launched herself at Santana's legs, shouting out "Mami you're home, you're home!" Over her granddaughter's head, she met Santana's eyes.

"Your daughter is more stubborn than even you. She said that she would not sleep until her mami tucked her in and she meant it. Back to work, Miss Hot to Trot."

She winked at Santana, her tone teasing, and gave her a hug and kiss, whispering into her ear, "I hope you had fun, mija, you deserve a night out," before bending to kiss Antonia good night and heading out the door. Santana picked Antonia up, dramatically sniffing her head, neck, and shoulders and nudging each with her nose as Antonia squirmed on her hip and squealed with laughter.

"Hmmm did this little one take a bath tonight? Is that some stinky I smell?"

"Noooooo! Yes, Mami, I did too, yessss!" Antonia shrieked, her eyes squinted up with her laughter, and Santana kissed her cheeks before carrying her down the hall to her bed.

"Good, 'cause that means she's all ready for bed then, as long as her teeth aren't stinky either."

Not pleased by this turn of events, Antonia pouted, shaking her head grumpily. "I don't think so, Mami, I think it's time for me to read stories with you."

"Nope, I bet Abuela already did that with you, and you don't get that times two," Santana told her easily, giving Antonia's tummy a little poke. "Especially since the way Abuela tells it, you've been naughty and not going to sleep when she told you to. You get a cuddle and a kiss and tucked in and that's all."

"Mami, that's not fair," Antonia griped again. As Santana reached her bedroom and attempted to deposit her on her bed, Antonia gripped her around the neck, resisting faintly for a few moments before letting Santana let go. Santana pulled back the blanket and tucked Antonia under it, then lay down beside her, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her head to her chest. She rocked Antonia slightly, stroking a hand over her head and down her back, and watched with warm satisfaction as Antonia began to relax automatically, her eyelashes fluttering as she fought to keep them open.

This was the part about mothering that Santana loved most. Watching her little girl so completely trust her, letting herself be vulnerable and babied in her arms, made her feel such a ferocity of love and affection for her that it was something she could never describe. It was something only a mother could ever understand.

Antonia's eyes struggled to open again, and she blinked up at Santana, further melting her heart. Her brown eyes only half open, she whispered to her, giving a yawn that mangled her words so Santana had to ask her to repeat herself.

"Mami…is Sam gonna be my new daddy, for real?"

Santana paused, unsure of how to respond. She likes Sam. After their date, that has become clear. But she's only met him twice, and Antonia has only met him once. What was it that her daughter was really thinking or wanting?

"You really liked him, huh, mija?" she said instead, still rubbing Antonia's back, and the little girl nodded, yawning again and snuggling in closer.

"Uh huh…he's nice. And pretty for a boy. Not Stevie though. I don't like him at all. He's mean and stupid and ugly."

"Oh, Toni, he's just a little boy who likes to tease, just like you're a little girl who likes to tease," Santana rolled her eyes, but she kept her voice soft, not wanting to stir her daughter up when she was sleepy. She kept stroking her hair, noticing when Antonia's thumb crept into her mouth, and smiled to herself, seeing that even as the little girl spoke again, her eyes remained closed.

"Don't like him. Just like Sam."

"Well, Sam likes you too," Santana told her. "He can see what a special little girl you are."

Antonia smiled, though her eyes were still closed. She continued to suck her thumb softly, leaned into her mother's chest, and Santana could see that her breathing was evening out. Still, the child's words were sticking with her, and she leaned her mouth close to her ear to whisper to her.

"You really want a daddy pretty badly, don't you, baby?"

When Antonia nodded, ever so slightly, Santana sighed, but didn't respond. She had never had this discussion with her before, about why it was, exactly, that Antonia didn't have a father. How could she tell her that she didn't' know who Antonia's father was any more than Antonia herself did?

She had been so different, back in high school. Struggling with her sexuality as she realized she liked girls, Santana had bucked against her growing understanding of her bisexuality by sleeping with as many boys as would have her. This had resulted in Antonia's conception, and even today she couldn't be sure which boy was responsible. She hadn't welcomed Antonia's conception, but now, she wouldn't have removed her from her life for anything in the world.

Still, Antonia was only four years old. Santana had known that the day would come when she would start to ask her about the difference in their family and other children's, but she had never been quite sure of what to tell her.

Still keeping her mouth close to Antonia's ear, she took a breath, trying to explain to her softly.

"Every family is different, baby girl. Some people only have mommies and some people only have daddies and some people have both. Some people have just abuelas and some people have just tias or tios and some people live with friends, and some people have two mommies or two daddies. You just have your mami but that's okay. I wish you had a whole lot of people to love you because you're so special, but you have your mami and your abuela and your abuelo, and they all love you very, very much. Maybe one day you'll have a daddy, or a second mami. But right now you just have me, and that's special too."

She felt Antonia nod slightly against her chest, and her words were slurred with her sleepiness when she answered.

"'Kay…still want a daddy though."

Then she was asleep, her breathing heavy and even. For another few minutes Santana held her, thinking, and then she released her, kissing the crown of her head as she made her way into her own room.

88

Sam was excited about his first day as Sam's T-ball coach. It was a way for him to spend some extra time with Stevie and also give back to the community, he couldn't go wrong with this decision. Not to mention, when he had realized that one of the children listed to be on his team was Antonia Lopez…well, spending more time with the adorable little girl and more importantly, having more of a reason to see her mother was nothing but good to him.

Of course, he had yet to tell Stevie, who wasn't quite as enamored with Toni, about this fact.

"All right, Stevie, I want you to treat me like your coach today okay? So if I say something, I don't want to hear you whining…" he told his brother as they walked from the car to the field.

"Okay," Stevie said, but it was clear from the way he was looking up towards the sky that he was not paying any attention to his brother.

Santana was excited for Antonia's first t-ball practice as well. She had always wanted to play sports growing up but her father and abuela never wanted her to, thinking she was already too much of a tomboy. She was glad to let Antonia develop her coordination and skills at her own pace, and she suspected her little girl, active and energetic as she was, would love it and could actually become good over time. And of course, the realization that Antonia's coach was none other than Sam Evans was definitely a draw in and of itself.

As she drove her, Antonia too seemed excited. She had asked Santana to braid and rebraid her hair several times and tie a bow in it even though Santana explained she wasn't supposed to look special to play sports.

"But I like being pretty ANYWAY," Antonia had declared, and Santana couldn't argue with that. Her kid would definitely be the cutest there in her opinion. But even so, she suspected that part of her desire to look pretty definitely had to do with Sam seeing her.

Sam was introduced to the parents of the players and waited on the sidelines for everyone to show up. Stevie was fooling around with a few of his friends, making Sam smile. It was nice to see his brother so happy. Sometimes he wondered if he was doing a good enough job raising his little brother, but days like this reassured him that Stevie was okay.

He wanted to get to know the kids before practice started, so he blew on his whistle and ushered the kids over.

"All right kids, it's time to make my introduction. I'm Sam Evans, I'm your new coach," he smiled at them all warmly. "Can all of you introduce yourselves?" He pointed to the boy sitting at the front left, "What's your name, buddy?"

Santana and Antonia were a little late, because Antonia's shoelace had untied while getting out of the car and she had insisted on trying to tie it herself. By the time they caught up to the group, Santana holding Antonia's hand, and she caught sight of who was speaking to the others, Santana grinned before she could stop herself. Antonia smiled too when she saw Sam, her face lighting up, and shouted his name.

"MR SAM HI!" But when she saw Stevie this quickly became a scowl. "And that boy."

Sam looked up and immediately began to smile as Santana and Toni walked towards him. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about Santana ever since their date, and today, she looked even more beautiful, despite her minimal makeup, casual jeans, and loose shirt.

"Hi, Toni," He greeted the little girl before focusing on Santana a little too long. When he realized what he was doing, he flushed and cleared his throat. "Good to see you again, Toni. Why don't you take a seat."

Stevie scoffed, eyeing Toni, and said in a harsh whisper, "Poopy pants."

Noticing Sam's flush, Santana smiled back, her eyes on him, just as her daughter shattered her moment of pleasure.

"I AM NOT A POOPYPANTS! YOU ARE A FART MOUTH, YOU GOT FARTS IN YOUR MOUTH!"

How this would even be possible, Santana had no clue, but logic was not Antonia's strength. Somewhat embarrassed, she looked around to see all the other kids and most of the parents staring at her like she had raised a crazy child and hissed to Antonia, "Go sit down, don't start. Just ignore him."

"I'm not a fart mouth. That's not even possible. Who farts from the mouth. Must be you!" Stevie taunted back, laughing at his own words.

Sam could only roll his eyes. He hated that the two could never get along.

"Stevie stop taunting her or else…" he warned his little brother and watched as he folded his arms defiantly. He shook his head and looked at Santana, mouthing, 'I'm sorry' to her before going back to the topic of introductions. "Who's next?"

A cute little brunette raised her hand and introduced herself in an eager tone.

Santana just rolled her eyes at Sam, giving him a smile before going to stand next to Antonia, just to make sure she didn't lunge towards Stevie or anything. Antonia had her arms crossed over her chest and was huffing loudly and repeatedly, glaring at Stevie with her lip stuck way out in a pout.

Sam couldn't be anymore glad that the fuss between Stevie and Toni had died down. The introductions went smoothly and once they were all done, he put his hands together and said, "All right, we are going to learn how to throw and catch today. Everybody partner up."

All the kids chose a partner and Stevie and Toni were left to be partners. His eyes widened, knowing full well that this was not going to end well.

Antonia was already upset because every time she turned to another child, they already had another partner. Eyebrows starting to knit with worry, feeling like no one liked her, she kept swiveling her head around as though just certain that someone other than Stevie was left. Pointing straight at him, she bellowed, "Hey! Doesn't anyone wanna be my partner instead?!"

Stevie scowled seeing that everyone had already gotten a partner. He was left with Toni and he wasn't too happy about it.

"I don't want to be her partner! She's a poopy pants!" he huffed.

Sam rolled his eyes, sighing in defeat. "Will you stop that. She is not a poopy pants. She's a beautiful little lady. You be good to her or I'll ground you for a week. Now get into position, we're about to start."

Stevie grumbled, "You always take her side…" before going to take his place.

Hands on her hips, Antonia faced Stevie square on, growling aloud at him as she countered, "Yeah, I'm a beautiful little lady and you're about to get grounded! And if you call me poopy pants one more time I'm gonna kick you so hard in the butt you make poop in YOUR pants!"

Santana covered her mouth, trying hard not to laugh at this, and met Sam's eyes. She had to gather herself before she could talk to Antonia.

"Toni, just throw the ball with Stevie, NOT at him, into his glove. It won't last forever."

"I don't want to get grounded…" Stevie looked sadly at his brother.

"Then behave…" Sam threatened.

Sometimes Stevie felt like Sam didn't even like him when Toni was around. He was always in trouble and getting scolded. It made him sad. He didn't say anything else after that, knowing that he was going to get grounded scared him straight and caught the ball that Toni threw his way.

Antonia was still pouting, but she threw the ball with Stevie without further incident. Santana watched her closely, keeping an eye on her as she spoke to Sam quietly.

"So I'm glad they're on the same team, but looks like they don't agree. Obviously. The fact that they're wielding bats and balls is just a tad concerning."

Stevie didn't say another word and if Sam wasn't mistaken, he thought that he saw the look of hurt in his brother's eyes.

"I think I might have been a little too harsh on Stevie… I might have hurt his feelings a little," he stated to Santana sighing. "I just don't want him to hurt Toni, you know… They are constantly at each other. Someone had to say something before they hurt each other for real."

Santana nodded slightly, not taking her eyes off them either. She wasn't risking that, even as she moved close enough to Sam to brush shoulders.

"Don't worry, I can protect her. And she can protect herself. I'd worry more for Stevie. She's got a tongue all right." She paused, then added, "She is pretty sensitive though."

Sam felt a little at ease when Santana came to stand right next to him. She was so close, he could smell the scent of her skin. It made his eyes close for a mere second before he opened them again to look at the two kids.

"I don't know why they keep teasing each other when they know they're only going to end up hurting one another. It really does not make sense at all to me, but hey, they're kids." He shook his head, "How's your day going so far?"

Santana had a strong urge to lean against Sam, to wrap her arm around his waist, but she was shy about that so soon, in front of all the parents and kids.

"Because they're both the only or the youngest and used to getting all the attention and they're both too adorable for their own good. My day has been busy but good. You know she's gonna be even later next time now that she knows you're her coach, right? She's probably going to try to con me into letting her wear makeup." She laughed, leaning her shoulder just a bit more against his.

"That's good to know…" Sam smiled a little. He was still worried about Stevie however and swore that he was going to have a talk with his brother by the end of the day. He needed Stevie to know that he was hard on him for a reason. "You're right, I just hope he knows that I love him and that nothing could ever change that."

He whipped his head over at the comment about makeup and quirked a brow, "Are you kidding? You let her wear makeup? Well, as much as I want to play favorites, I can't. I'm the coach and I have to be fair."

The urge to hold Santana was strong, but he stopped himself before he could put his arms around her shoulder. Instead, he settled for discreetly rubbing the back of her hand with his pointer finger.

"Uh, hell no I don't let her wear makeup. She can wear chapstick if I put it on her and she doesn't lick it off, that's it. Do I look like one of the moms on toddlers and tiaras? But she sure thinks if she begs and cries enough she can wear makeup," Santana explained, rolling her eyes. "I will do my best to get her here on time, believe me, just warning you she can make that hard."

When Sam rubbed the back of her hand, she looked down, dimples slowly appearing in her cheek, and let him continue, fighting the urge to lace their fingers.

"Hey, I didn't know. I just had to check. I mean, you don't look like one of those moms, but I could be wrong…" Sam threw his head back and laughed. "Okay, that was wrong of me to say, sorry… I just wanted to give you a hard time. Tease you back. Since you love teasing me so much."

He loved this easiness between them. He had never remembered being this much at ease with a woman before. It was nice to know that he could connect with someone in this level.

"So…" He dragged the words as his finger continued to rub the back of her hand, "Are you going to let me take you out again soon?"

"And what exactly is one of THOSE moms?" Santana teased, nudging him. She shivered slightly, amazed at her own ridiculous reaction. All he was doing was touching her hand and she was actually almost aroused. "Let you? I was waiting for you to man up and ask."

"Oh you know, the kinds who push their daughters to win pageants… Total turn off by the way." Sam smirked, winking at her. "Hey… I am manning up. I asked you, didn't I?" he retorted with an offended tone, "So are you going to go out with me again or not? Cause there's a ton of other girls waiting to date me, you know…"

He tried to keep a straight face, but that didn't work and busted out laughing, "I'm kidding. There's no other girls."

"Toni in a pageant? I can barely wash her hair without her screeching over it. No way," Santana scoffed. "Plus she's be prettier than all those little spray tanned freaks, it wouldn't be a competition."

She went still, hurt flickering across her eyes as he mentioned other girls and momentarily took him seriously. But then she relaxed too, hitting his shoulder as he confessed his joke. "Ha. Ha."

"You're right about that. She would be the prettiest one there." Sam agreed. He didn't know if Santana was offended or not, and again she didn't answer his question, so he nudged her shoulder, "Ha. Ha. Is not an answer. Don't make me have to beg because that would not be pretty."

"Of course I want to go," Santana said quietly and more seriously. "I'd go right this second if I didn't have my kid to watch."

Sam didn't know that he was holding his breath until Santana agreed to go out on another date with him. "That's not a problem to me at all. We could go out to dinner after practice with the kids."

A commotion broke their moment and when he looked at the where it was coming from, sure enough, it was Stevie and Toni creating the ruckus.

"Oh god, these two are going to be the death of us…" He grumbled before pulling away to break up the fight. "Hey! What's going on here?"

Santana's head jerked up at Antonia's all too recognizable scream, and she saw that she was flailing her fists, trying her hardest to hit Stevie and kick him. Santana rushed over, seizing her around the waist and pinning her arms down.

"Antonia Cristina! Stop that! What do you think you're doing?"

"HE WON'T SHARE!" she shrieked, pointing an outraged finger at Stevie. "He pulled my hair AGAIN just 'cause I wanna have his daddy be my daddy too! He is selfish!"

Face flushing, Santana was acutely aware of all the other kids and parents now staring at her.

Sam rushed over and pulled Stevie away. Stevie was fighting him and screaming, "Let me go! I won't let her take you away from me. You'll love her more!"

Sam gasped hearing those words from his brother. He never thought that things could get this ugly and he was partially to blame for that.

"Stevie, stop that…" Sam said, holding his brothers arms so that he would stop struggling.

"No! Let me go! You don't love me, you love her!"

Stevie was panicking, he could feel his brother slipping away from him and he didn't want that to happen. He only had Sam to love him. What would he do without his brother? His lips began quivering and tears welled up in his eyes.

"No, Stevie…" Sam grabbed his brother and hugged him. "You will not lose me. I promise you that I will always love you."

Santana had her hands full with her own child. Antonia was bawling now, partly out of frustration that Santana wouldn't let her go beat the crap out of Stevie, and partly because she worked herself up to that point. She turned to Santana, holding up her arms to be picked up, and when Santana did, letting her daughter bury her face in her neck, she heard Antonia whimper, "He's mean to me. He should let me have his daddy too. I was gonna be nice and share."

Sighing, Santana patted her back, but her eyes were on Stevie and Sam. She felt for the little boy and understood his worries, but she didn't say anything to him or Antonia, letting Sam talk to him alone.

Stevie sobbed in his brother's arm and held him close. He wasn't sure if he believed him, but Sam never lied to him before, so he could only hope that he was telling the truth.

"So you're not going to be Toni's daddy?"

That was a question that was hard for Sam to answer. He liked Santana very much and it would be a lie if he told his brother that he didn't want something more with her in the future, but how could he explain things to his brother without it bothering him?

"Listen Stevie, I can't promise you anything right now, just know that you're my brother and I will always love you, no one can come between us, okay?"

Stevie nodded and smiled slightly. It wasn't the answer he was looking for, but at least his brother was promising to love him always.

"Okay… I love you, Sammy." He hugged Sam tightly and Sam returned it.

"I love you too, buddy. Now, can you do me a huge favor? Can you go apologize to Toni? We Evans men don't hurt girls. It's not a very nice thing to do."

Stevie frowned at this, but he didn't protest, "Okay…" Letting go of his brother, he went up to Toni and said with a small voice, "I'm sorry I pulled your hair."

Antonia was still sitting on Santana's hip, her arm around her mother's neck, her thumb in her mouth, as it usually was after she's had a tantrum or been crying, to calm herself down. She narrowed her eyes at Stevie as he approached, removing her thumb hurriedly, and looked at him suspiciously.

"You are very, very mean to me," she sniffed in an injured tone. Santana gave her leg a little warning squeeze, as though to say to her to be nice, as Antonia continued. "You hurt me and you don't share. I was nice, I was sharing the ball and then I was gonna share your daddy."

Sam went to join Stevie, hoping that another fight wouldn't break out again. When he heard Toni's sassy retort, his lip twitched, but he kept a straight face. Stevie didn't like what Toni was saying, so he looked up at his big brother. Sam simply gave his brother a squeeze on the shoulder and said, "Go ahead, buddy…"

Stevie didn't want to disappoint Sam and so he decided to be nice. "He's not my daddy, he's my big brother… And I'm sorry I pulled your hair…" He whispered to Sam, "She's being mean to me. Can I go now?"

"You should share and be nice then. He can be your big brother and my daddy," Antonia informed him, seeming to find this a very reasonable idea. She looked up at her mother, appealing to her. "Right, Mami?"

Santana cleared her throat, looking over at Sam. "Um, practice is probably about over now, right?"

"She's not being mean." Sam shook his head and when he heard what came out of Toni's mouth, he eyes went wide and he started coughing.

"Sam, are you okay?" Stevie was worried and started to beat on his brother's back.

"I'm okay…" Sam eventually sputtered and nodded at Santana, "Yeah, it's time to go home…"

He blew on his whistle and called for the kids to gather around. They spoke for a few minutes, before he let them all go for the day. He and his brother were going to have a talk one of these days, that was for sure.


	6. Chapter 6

It was two days later, and between practices with the children, schedules with work, and their babysitters' schedules too, Sam and Santana hadn't yet been able to see each other since the last time the children had a practice. Santana found herself watching Sam just as much, if not more than her daughter, a somewhat silly smile on her face. It seemed to her that the weekend date they had planned for was entirely too far away.

Meanwhile, she failed to notice that her daughter and Stevie, in the outfield where Sam had placed them, had wandered over towards each other and were involved in an intense conversation of their own.

"Are there really monsters under the bed?" Antonia asked Stevie seriously, her dark eyes wide, and Stevie nodded emphatically, making a clawing motion towards her as though to scratch.

"Uh huh and they're gonna come and eat you up!"

"Really?!" Antonia gasped, her mouth falling open. "Have you seen them?!"

"Yes," Stevie declared, making his eyes wide as he nodded again. "They have red eyes and sharp yellow teeth and I heard they like little girls best."

"Oh no…that's what Michael and Nicky said….they said they're green though. Stevie how do you get rid of them?! I gotta kill the monster!" Antonia declared, shaking her glove at him for emphasis. "What can I do?"

"The one that I've seen has red eyes," Stevie told her, shrugging. "I didn't see none with green. I don't know how to kill them but I heard that someone threw a stinky sock at one once and the monster ran away." He hit his fist in his glove, neither child paying any attention whatsoever to where Sam was instructing another child how to swing a bat.

Antonia wasn't laughing. Eyes open wide with horror, she cupped her free hand over her mouth, bellowing from clear across the outfield to where her mother still sat on the bleachers.

"MAMI! DON'T YOU WASH MY SOCKS NO MORE! I GOTTA HAVE STINKY SOCKS!"

Bewildered, Santana cocked one eyebrow towards her daughter, embarrassed. Definitely other parents were looking at her, yet again, as though she had something to do with her daughter's occasional outbursts of nonsense. She flushed further when Sam too snickered, but when he glanced back at the outfield and she followed his gaze, she saw Stevie giggling. So that was the culprit.

"Excuse me," Sam said to the boy he had been helping, before he sighed, running a hand through his hair, and started to walk towards the outfield where the children stood.

"Stevie….what did you do this time?"

Stevie shrugged his shoulders, innocent. "Nothing. You said be nice to her so I'm being nice."

Antonia, not satisfied with this non response from her mother, abandoned her position and ran, arms pumping, across the field. Getting in front of Santana, she tugged at her anxiously.

"Mamiiiii you can't wash my socks no more. I gotta throw them!"

"Stevie, why is Toni talking about socks?" Sam asked sternly.

Stevie giggled again and looked up at his brother. "She asked me how to kill monsters under the bed, so I told her that you have to throw stinky socks at them."

Sam shook his head, sighing, and headed towards the still confused pair on the bleachers. Sighing again, he informed Santana, "Umm… Stevie told Toni that you had to throw stink socks at the monster under the bed to kill them. Sorry…"

Toni looked up, her eyes bright with animation and fear. "That's how come I gotta keep them stinky Mami. I gotta be able to throw them and scare them." She tried to climb on Santana's lap as she asked, "Can I have your stinky socks too?"

Santana's mouth twitched as she smoothed her hand over Antonia's hair. "He's teasing you, baby. There aren't any monsters."

Antonia shook her head seriously. "Are too Mami. I hear them breathing at night!"

Sam looked back towards the outfield where Stevie remained standing innocently, swaying back and forth. Beckoning for him, he waited until his brother had loped over to him, then knelt before him, looking him in the eyes.

"Stevie, remember what we talked about? You said you were going to be nicer to Toni. What happened to that promise?"

Stevie looked at Sam with innocent eyes, shrugging. "I was being nice, Sammy. There are monsters under the bed and someone threw stinky socks at them…"

Antonia jabbed a finger towards Stevie, half shouting in Santana's ear. "See Mami, he said so, he's being nice and telling me how to kill the bad monsters!"

Santana sighed, shifting Antonia so she was sitting on her lap in a way that she could look at her. "Carina, I hear you. Right now there are no monsters on this field though, and you need to go finish practicing. I promise we'll look when we get home, but there won't be monsters, because they aren't real."

Antonia shook her head, stubborn. "Are too real. I'm not gonna sleep in my room no more. I'm gonna sleep with you. I'm putting stinky socks under the beds and you gotta sleep with me. Do you think they like pee pee panties too?" Turning to look at Stevie, the apparent expert, she asked, "Do they like pee pee panties?"

"I didn't know you believe in monsters?" Sam asked Stevie skeptically. "Stevie, can you tell Toni that she doesn't have to be scared of the monster?"

Stevie frowned. "But monsters are scary…"

Sam sighed, running an exasperated hand over his face. "I know, but Toni's a big girl now and big girls shouldn't be scared all the time. Just tell her, okay?"

Stevie gave an identical sigh, shoulders slumping, before he turned back to Toni. "Sammy says you can't be scared and you can't throw pee pee panties at them. That's yucky… Just put one stinky sock under the bed and that will make them scared. Am I right, Sammy?"

Sam nodded. "That's right."

Santana rolled her eyes exaggeratedly back at Sam over Antonia's head, then looked down at her, horrified by her declaration of intending to sleep with her now. She knows her daughter very well and she would follow through, definitely.

"No, no, listen to me, Antonia. Monsters don't exist."

"Mr. Sam says they exist. Is that really right, Mr. Sam? Will they really be scared of my stinky socks? Aren't they stinky too?" Antonia looked over at Sam doubtfully.

Sam felt like he was in a pickle right at this very moment. He just agreed with Stevie that monsters do exist. He rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat loudly.

"Umm… They… Umm… I've never seen them before, but Stevie has and he's right you have to be brave. Right, Stevie?" He nudged at his brother, hoping to God that the little guy would help him out here.

"Only special people can see them," Stevie agreed, nodding. "Maybe your mommy is not special enough to see monsters. Sammy is not too."

Sam rolled his eyes, but he didn't argue.

"I am brave! I am very, super brave." Antonia sounded injured that there was even a doubt in this. "I'm just much braver if my mami sleeps with me 'cause her socks stink more than mine do."

Santana forgot the entire point of this argument at that declaration, making an affronted noise in her throat. "Excuse you, what?"

Antonia ignored her, continuing. "Am I a special people, Stevie? I didn't see no monsters yet but I hear them."

"You are special people, but special people have to be brave or the monster will hurt you," Stevie affirmed.

Antonia looked to her mother for confirmation of this. Santana didn't really want her to believe in monsters at all, but if this was the story, she'd go with it for now. Patting her head, she nodded.

"You're my special, brave girl all right. You'll be okay." Setting her back on her feet, she gave her a little push. "Time to go catch some balls now, Antonita Bonita."

"Alright, kids time to get back to practice." Sam watched them for a second and then turned to Santana after he was sure they were turning to where they needed to be. "I'm sorry about that. I don't even know that Stevie believes in monsters."

Watching Antonia scamper back to outfield, Santana smirked at Sam, rolling her eyes. "Your little one is gonna give my little one a nervous breakdown before she's five. But hey, as long as I don't have to listen to her screaming in terror tonight or wake up with her kicking my left kidney, I think we'll survive. At least long enough for that date you promised me this weekend."

"Oh, we have to make sure of that," Sam agreed, giving her a returning smile. "May the monsters stay hungry until then."

88

Texts

 **Santana:** hey sorry so last min but i cant come on date im sorry

 **Santana:** im sick, mami has toni even **  
Sam:** Oh no, that's not good.

 **Sam:** Did you want me to come over? You shouldn't be alone when you're sick.

 **Santana:** I'm okay...I dont want you getting sick too

 **Sam:** I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. Right now we need to be worrying about you.

 **Santana:** im ok...

 **Sam:No you're not. I'm coming over.**

 **Santana:you dont have to...** **  
Sam:I want to, so don't argue with me.**

 **Santana:okay...**

 **Santana:i look like shit and the house is dirty  
Sam:I'm sure you look beautiful and I'm not worried about your house.**

 **Sam:Did you need me to get you something?**

 **Santana:idk...cant really think**

 **Sam: be there soon**

 **88**

 **This was day three of Santana being sick. She hadn't gone to the doctor yet- that was always her absolute last resort- but she had been feeling pretty terrible, enough that she didn't go to work and didn't soldier through like she usually would try. She had even sent Antonia to stay with her mother, knowing she couldn't take care of her in her current state and also not wanting her to get sick too. She thought it could be the flu, to her own disgust. That would explain how she was varying between being freezing and burning up with fever, how she was chilled and achy and sniffly, and she couldn't seem to get up to even go to the bathroom without supreme effort, let alone feed herself or go about a semi normal day. Curled up on the couch, sweat beaded on her forehead even as she shivered under her blanket, Santana lay, listless. It was a mark of how bad she felt that she would even for a second contemplate letting Sam Evans come over right now.**

 **Sam was worried about Santana. It didn't sit well with him that she was sick. He has always been a caretaker. It might have been due to the fact that he had been taking care of Stevie ever since their parents died, but still, it felt like the trait was imbedded in him now. Stopping by at the grocery store, he picked up a few items that would come in handy. He had a slew of medication and even had time to get some chicken noodle soup at the diner across the street. By the time he got to Santana's, he had two grocery bags filled with meds and soup. After giving the door a few good knocks, he stood back and waited for Santana to open, wondering if she was even going to be able to answer the door in her state.**

 **It was definitely a struggle for her. Santana groaned aloud, then awkwardly shoved herself up into a sitting position. It took a great deal of effort for her to fight her way out of her blankets, and then she was shaking, having difficulty standing. It took her several minutes to make her way to the door, holding onto the wall and other furniture on the way, and when she opened it for Sam her legs were visibly quivering.**

 **"Hey," she rasped, her voice hoarse.**

 **Sam's eyes went wide when he saw Santana. She didn't look like the Santana he knew at all. She was pale and it looked like she was having trouble standing.**

 **"God, you shouldn't be standing," he said as he closed the door behind him. Putting the bags down, he immediately, picked her up and carried her to the sofa, making sure that she was lying down. She was warm to the touch, which worried him even more.**

 **"You're really warm... have you taken anything for your fever yet?" he asked as he sat her down before going to get the bags that he had abandoned, and then coming back to rejoin Santana in the living room.**

 **Santana's eyes closed as Sam picked her up, and she sank back against his chest unconsciously, burrowing into his warmth. When she was set back down, she slit her eyes open somewhat reluctantly, looking up at him as he hovered over her.**

 **"Don't remember." She had, yesterday, but not today.**

 **Sam shook his head at her answer and took out the medicine from the bag. Taking initiative, he went to grab her a glass of water, the task taking longer than it should have due to the fact that he was unfamiliar with where everything was. Once he had the water, he sat down next to Santana.**

 **"I need you to sit up and take this meds. It will help to make you feel better."**

 **Santana mumbled to herself more than to him, not wanting to move anymore. Still, she struggled up again, leaning back against the armrest of the couch and looking up at him, holding out her hand loosely for him to drop the pills into it.**

 **Sam gave Santana the pills and picked up the glass of water. "I'll help you with the water," he commented and waited for her to swallow the pills.**

 **She did, with some effort, take the pills and let Sam help her guide the glass to her mouth. Sighing when he took the glass away from her again, she let her head fall back, muttering, "This is beyond pathetic."**

 **Sam helped Santana with the task and chuckled at her comment, "It's not pathetic. You're sick and sick people can't help but be weak." After putting the glass down, he looked back at her and swept her hair off her face. "You still look beautiful to me," he told her sincerely.**

 **Santana looked at him with disbelief, making a scoffing noise in her throat that sends her into a hoarse coughing fit for a few seconds before she could answer. "I can't even move like a normal person, I haven't taken a shower in three days, I'm sweaty and nasty, and my nose probably looks like Rudolph's. You're either blind or have awful taste."**

 **Seeing Santana coughing, Sam reached around and began rubbing her back, chuckling at her remarks. "Well, I must be blind then because I don't think I have awful taste at all. I've been told that love is blind." When he realized what he said, he immediately back peddled, "Not that we're in love or anything... It's just that when you're attracted to people, sometimes it's not about the physical." His cheeks was already red and he was mentally kicking himself for the blunder.**

 **Sam's hand on her back felt good, soothing, and Santana hoped he wont' take it away. At his comment, she tensed up slightly, her eyes darting to his, and she searched his face with slightly bleary eyes, trying to determine just what it was he truly thinks or feels. Finally she decided to cut him and her own foggy brain some slack and not comment.**

 **He was lucky that Santana didn't make a comment and immediately decided to change the subject, "So I bought Chicken Noodle Soup. Would you like some? You must have no eaten yet and you have to have something in your stomach if you want to get better." He stood up then, thankful for the space between them, to go get her soup.**

 **Santana missed him to a level she considered ridiculous as soon as he was out of her sight. She wanted him to come back and sit with her, playing with her hair, rubbing her arms or legs and helping her feel better and comforted. She wanted to lay her head in his lap and fall asleep, but all of these desires were almost bewildering to her, because she would have laughed, had anyone said she would actually contemplate them even a few weeks ago.**

 **Sam took the soup into the kitchen, pouring it into a bowl and in that time, he was able to calm down a little. It was ridiculous for him to have mentioned the L word. They had only started seeing each other. It was mostly the slip of the tongue, but still the fact that he had brought it up was what boggled his mind. He has never said those words to a woman before, this being the first and it had to happen at the most inopportune of times.**

 **"You're an idiot," he uttered before going back to the living room and sitting down next to Santana again. "Can you sit up or did you want me to help you?"**

 **She could sit up if she tried hard enough, and she both did and didn't want his help. She did want him to touch her, to stay close to her, but she didn't want to look weak or stupid in front of him. So Santana had difficulty answering this as her pride drove her to attempt it.**

 **Sam didn't get an answer, or maybe she did answer and he didn't hear her, either way, it looked like she was going to have trouble sitting up, so he placed the bowl down and helped her to sit up. Then he grabbed the bowl, scooping up some of the soup and held the spoon near her mouth.**

 **"Open up. It's time to eat."**

 **Santana smirked at this, giving Sam a look close to affection. "You've been spending way too much time with five year olds lately. I can feed myself." Except that she couldn't, not without spilling, and she didn't totally want to either.**

 **"Hey don't mock it. Stevie is fun to hang out with." Sam laughed and playfully rolled his eyes, "You know you can't, stop acting tough and open up. Let me take care of you." He waited for her to open her mouth with the spoon still dangling near her mouth.**

 **Santana opened her mouth slowly, giving in. She swallowed the soup and opened her mouth again, enjoying the soothing warmth of it running down her throat. It actually tasted good to her after three days of barely eating.**

 **Sam was happy when Santana started eating. "That's a good girl," he jested. He didn't want to say it, but the way that she was eating the soup, it looked like she hadn't eaten in days. He happily fed her more soup, hoping that she would be able to finish the whole container.**

 **Santana wanted to roll her eyes at him and make a smart comment, but it was taking up too much energy eating to bother. She ate about two thirds of it before she couldn't eat more. Exhaling, she slipped her hand out from under the blanket and rested it on top, wanting Sam to hold her hand, if not her entirely, but not asking.**

 **Santana didn't finish the soup, but she ate most of it which made Sam really happy. Once she was done, he placed the bowl down and at back on the sofa with her. He took her hand and began rubbing it. "Your hands are cold..." he commented, still massaging her palms.**

 **Santana enjoyed Sam massaging her hand, liking that he did it without seeming to think twice, and even more so that he was not just trying to warm her but genuinely seemed to care if she was cold. Unconsciously her body shifted closer to his, almost overlapping.**

 **Sam was worried that Santana was cold. She hadn't said a word about it, but the way she was moving closer, it seemed as if she wanted some warmth and so he pulled her close to him, wrapping her up in his arms before he began rubbing her arms and hands. "Better?"**

 **Santana sighed, letting her body sink against his and take his warmth into hers. She rested her head back against his chest, nodding slightly. "Yeah..."**

 **Sam continued to rub her arms and hands, hoping that the action would at least help to make her feel better. "I wish you had** **had told me that you were sick sooner. I could have stopped by sooner."**

 **Santana murmured without words, turning her face against his chest so it was pressed directly against him. She enjoyed his gentle touch and the warmth it was giving her, sighing softly as she admitted, "I'm not used to asking for help."**

 **Sam closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. It felt great to have Santana so close to him. He didn't normally get to do these kinds of things with women.**

 **"You should learn to ask for it. There are somethings that you can't do on your own."**

 **"Well it's just me and Antonia," she explained, eyes still closed. "If I don't do stuff, who will? I mean I could ask my mom but I don't like to ask anything out of her, she does enough for me."**

 **"I get that, but you're sick. You have to get help when you're sick," he tried to reason, "Besides, the sooner you recover the faster you'll get to be independent again. Isn't that a better solution?"**

 **"Guess so." Santana groped out again for Sam's hand, wanting to hold it in hers. She opened her eyes slowly, looking up at him. "This feels nice." Normally she wouldn't have said this, but she was so feverish she wasn't thinking as much about her words, her guard down. "You feel good..."**

 **Sam could simply smile seeing Santana reaching for something to hold on to. He caught her wandering hand and laced their fingers together, taking a minute to look at their joined hands. It was a beautiful sight.**

 **"You feel good too," he admitted, kissing her on the forehead. "I don't normally do this with women..."**

 **Santana smiled automatically at the kiss, her features softening, and she nestled her head back against him, this time resting it on his shoulder. She could feel his heart beating against her and it was a comforting feeling, relaxing.**

 **"I'm all hot though, you said..." She sniffed, clearing her throat, and closed her eyes again. "No one touches me like this...I like it..."Later, when she wasn't sick, if she remembered, she'll probably be embarrassed by her own words, but right now she just feels content.**

 **"You are hot. You're burning up...and the other kind of hot too, but let's not go there." Sam laughed, moving a little so that they would both feel comfortable. "Well, I'm glad that I'm the only one who gets to touch you like this. It's an honor," he told her as he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.**

 **Santana made a little noise of pleasure, nuzzling her face against him slightly. She wanted him to play with her hair, and due to the fact that she was mostly without emotional walls at the moment, she told him this flat out.**

 **"I like when you touch my hair...I like everything about how you touch me."**

 **If Santana wasn't sick, Sam would be turned on by what she was saying, but it felt wrong to have those feelings at this moment, so he simply did what she wanted of him, putting his fingers through her scalp and then gently massaging her scalp. "Like this?"**

 **Santana sighed slowly, giving a faint nod. Her lips curve into a smile as she snuggled against him, lightly squeezing the hand not in her hair.**

 **The sigh that he was hearing was answer enough, so he kept going with the motion and before long a yawn left his lips.**

 **Santana was starting to drift off herself, her breathing getting deep and slightly raspy. Her body relaxed against him as she started to doze off.**

 **Sam was trying hard to stay awake, but with Santana safely nestled in his arms he was slowly losing the fight. Before long, his eyes drifted close and sleep took over.**


	7. Chapter 7

"Okay when did I become a literal koala bear?"

Sam opened his eyes at Santana's sleep-blurred voice, smiling at the disgruntled expression on her face. Her arms were wrapped snugly around his torso, her head pillowed against his chest, but she made no gesture to move away.

"Hey," he responded, running a hand through her tousled hair. "How did you sleep? I hope you're feeling better."

"Mmm little bit…why am I all over you?" she muttered, blinking her eyes and still making no attempt to move away.

"I came over to help take care of you and then I drifted off to sleep. You were cuddled up to me, I couldn't help myself," Sam explained with a chuckle.

Santana scowled. "I don't cuddle," she denied with dignity, attempting to pull away, but she slumped back against him because she was so still weak and he was so comfortable.

"Apparently you did last night," Sam pointed out, trying not to laugh at her attitude.

"Did not. I was…lazy about sitting up," Santana attempted, lifting her chin.

"Did too… That's the lamest explanation ever by the way," Sam countered, laughing for real this time.

"Did not. Was not. Why aren't you agreeing with the sick girl here?" Santana pouted, but even as she spoke she made no effort to pull away, still.

"Was too…" Sam shrugged, pulling Santana even closer. "Because you're fibbing."

"I do not fib. I occasionally make alterations to truth, but I don't fib." Santana smirked a little bit, covering his arm with her hand, then abruptly looked up at him. "You don't have to do this, you know. I'm better. You can leave, I mean who's taking care of Stevie?"

"Whatever you say, Tana," Sam chuckled. "I know I can, but I don't want to. Stevie's fine. He's in school right now and my uncle has him. It's good for him to spend some time away from me once in a while."

There it was again, calling her Tana. She smiled, shrugging. "You want to stay here? 'Cause I'm so entertaining right now, right? I know what it is, you want to cop a feel every time I pass out."

"I only do because you need my help. You can barely even stand last night." He rolled his eyes playfully. "Oh yeah, because that's what I do, I grope passed out and sick women."

"Hey, for all I know it's your weird little thrill," she smirked, adjusting more closely against him.

"If you keep talking like that, I might turn into that sicko who does," he laughed.

Santana laughed back, then broke off into coughing, covering it with her upper arm. "Ugh. I'm so disgusting. I need a bath…but that wasn't a come on or code for let me have my filthy way with you. I just reek."

Sam rubbed Santana's back gently when she began to cough and laughed. "I was going to say, are you inviting me to take a bath with you? If you need one, I can draw you one. Then you can take one in peace and I promise that I won't look at you naked." But even as he spoke, he crossed his fingers behind his back.

The problem with that scenario was Santana wasn't sure she'd be able to get in and out of the bath herself. She didn't mention this though, hoping this wasn't the case; she wasn't even ready to attempt standing up from Sam's lap right now.

"You got a deal. Although I don't believe you for a second. Peeper." She laughed, sitting up slowly but not standing.

Sam simply laughed at her comment, knowing full well that she was right. He was going to peep. "All right, let me go draw you that bath and help you get in it."

He kissed her forehead and went to accomplish the task. Once it was done, he came back to the living room. "You ready for your bath?" He wiggled his brows with a chuckle.

"Knew it…looks like you're way too excited about this." She chuckled too and reached up her arms to be lifted. "I need an air delivery, Mr."

"Hey, I'm a guy. Can you blame me?" Sam laughed and lifted Santana in his arms. "Air delivery you shall get, Miss Lopez."

He walked into the bathroom with her in his arms, noticing that she was still slightly warm, but not as bad as she was the day before. "Did you need me to help undress you?"

"You so wish." Santana laughed, but the truth was she may actually need some help since she was still weak standing up. She looked around, realizing this. "Uh, where you gonna set me down, stud boy?"

Sam laughed. "I could dream right? Can you even stand?"

"Yes, of course I can," she said this as if she knew it was true but it was actually more like she hoped it was.

"Okay." He let her down slowly, making sure that he still had a hold of her. "You okay?"

"Yep." From where Sam had set her on the toilet, Santana started to remove her clothes slowly. She managed with some effort, except for her underwear. Now entirely undressed, except for this, she looked up at Sam and tried to joke about this rather awkward state of being, but she was watching him closely too. "So turns out your dream's about to be big time reality. What, you have a genie?"

Sam turned around to give Santana privacy. He wanted to look. What guy in their right mind wouldn't want to? But it didn't feel right, so he kept his head turned. He heard her remark and frowned.

"Umm… What are you talking about? I don't have a genie."

"Getting your wish and all that. Must be rubbing the right spot on that lamp." Santana laughed but it sounded awkward. "Uh, I think I may need help, so don't blush yourself into an aneurysm."

"I wish I had a magic lamp." Sam gulped, his head still turned. "What sort of help?"

Santana was the one blushing a little now. "Hard to get something off your ass when you're sitting on it."

His eyes bugged out then he straightened out a little. "Oh… Umm… I'll help you."

He knelt down before her, hook his fingers on the sides of her panties and gently pulled, baring her completely to him. He had to mentally scold himself for getting excited. She was sick and he shouldn't be looking at her like that, but he was a guy and she was a beautiful woman. What was he to do? Not look?

"Umm… You're good now." He turned his head again, mostly so that he could reign in his raging hormones.

Santana wanted to tease him, but bit her tongue, having pity for once. She made an effort to stand, but her leg muscles were still shaky and weak, and she reached out to grab his arm.

"Shit. This is ridiculous!"

Sam with his head still turned felt the wobbly movements coming from Santana. He helped her out, picking her up and then slowly putting her into the bathtub.

"There, you should be all good. Did you want me to leave to give you privacy?"

This was definitely not the circumstances that Santana wanted Sam to see her naked for the first time, let alone touching her that way. She was still blushing a little, but it was not entirely unpleasant for him to touch her and help her. Actually it wasn't at all. She thought about his question and struggled against pride and truth, before deciding, speaking quietly.

" I want you to stay."

"Okay…" Sam nodded. This was going to be harder than he initially though. He had never been given this much temptation in such little time in his life. Shaking the lustful thoughts from his head, he decided to massage her shoulders. He was gentle with his touch, putting just enough pressure, but not too much to hurt her.

Santana sighed, letting her head lean forward, her arms resting on her legs, partly covering herself. Her shoulder started to loosen up under Sam's hands, and she smiled softly, closing her eyes. Sam felt Santana relaxing a little. He smiled at this and continued to knead at her taut muscles and without much thought, he leaned down to kiss her shoulder. Santana continued to smile, then straightened up just enough to lean back into his chest. Her hand grasped for his, twining their fingers. Sam closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, enjoying the warmth of her body. Their fingers were laced together and at that very moment, he swore he had never felt more connected to a person.

"You feel good…"

He kissed her shoulder again. Eyes still closed, dimples appeared in Santana's cheeks with her smile. She was quiet, just relaxing. The warmth of the water was easing the achy weakness of her muscles and the congestion in her chest and nose, and Sam holding her had given her a sense of comfort she couldn't remember feeling any time recently, maybe ever. She sighed, whispering back.

"This is making me feel better."

Sam could only smile and hold on to Santana, her remark widening his smile even more. "I'm glad. Then maybe…the next time I get sick, you could do this for me. Especially the undressing me and bathing together part."

Santana nodded slightly, laughing too. "Sounds good…I knows you're hiding some good stuff under all those silly clothes."

She continued to rest, then slowly sat up, reaching for the soap to finish washing herself off. When she had rinsed off and felt clean, she looked up at Sam for help again. "Here's the part you love and adore where you get to put your hands on me again."

Sam had to drag his eyes away from her delectable breasts and concentrate on the present. "Yeah, sure." He cleared his throat and then went to pick her up. "Which way is your bedroom?"

One arm wrapping around his neck, Santana pointed the way. She rested her head against his shoulder, again breathing in his scent with her slightly stuffy nose, and smiled, relaxing. Despite being held by him while undressed, definitely a stimulating situation, she was sleepy, so much so that when she breathed him in again deliberately, she didn't realize in time that she was about to sneeze. She sneezed against his shoulder, then, mortified, wiped at the spot with her hand, then hid her face against him, not wanting him to look at her.

" Shit, I'm sorry. Told you I'm disgusting right now."

Sam was almost at the bedroom when he heard and felt Santana sneeze on his shoulder. It was disgusting, yes, but he didn't flinch, reminding himself that Stevie used to drool, puke, sneezed and once, even pooped on him.

" It's all right. Trust me, I've had much worse things happen to me thanks to Stevie."

He chuckled and entered her bedroom. Slowly, he put her down on the bed, tucked the blankets onto her and kissed her on her forehead. "As much as I'd love to stay, I promised Stevie that I was going to pick him up today. I don't want him freaking out on me, so I have to go, but if you'd like to, I could stop by again later, and check up on you?"

Santana could barely believe his reaction, although the same was true with Antonia. She'd been peed on, puked on, pooped on, sneezed on, everything under the sun that comes with having a child; still, that didn't make it any less embarrassing for her to have done that to Sam. Her eyes were already drifting shut when he tucked her in and kissed her, and she nodded, mumbling back to him.

" Tell Toni I miss her if I you see her…and love her. See her soon."

88

From where she stood close to the other child, moping by the blacktop during recess time, Antonia spoke up as she so often had over the past few moments, louder this time, not willing for the little boy to ignore her.

"I miss my mami."

Sighing, realizing that Antonia was not going to walk away or lose interest in talking, Stevie spoke up too, shrugging.

"I miss Sammy too. I wonder where he went? He was away last night and he said he might be tomorrow. Maybe he'll come pick me up later."

"Sam is missing too?!" Antonia's eyes grew wide, and she reached out to grasp hold of Stevie's arm, shaking it urgently. "Is he sick like my mami? Did someone take them away?!"

"No!" Stevie insisted, even as his lips started to tremble despite his shaking head. "Don't say that. No one can take Sammy away from me."

"But what if they did…what if they are never, never coming back?" Antonia lowered voice suspensefully, leaning in close, even as her own lips trembled.

Tears started to build up in Stevie's eyes even as he shook his head again, doubting. "They won't go away. Sammy can't leave me."

"But what if somebody tooked them? Like the oogie boogie man?" Her eyes very wide now, Antonia moved closer still to Stevie. "He's scary!"

"Nobody took them! Specially not the Oogie Boogie man," Stevie scoffed, wiping quickly at his eyes. "He's gross and has tons of boogers!"

Stopping short, Antonia gave Stevie the most withering look she could conjure up, hands on hips. "He's not a BOOGER man. He is the BOOGIE man. Like boogie bad guy. Dum dum head."

Stevie sniffled, wondering if his brother will come before looking at Toni with a glare. "It is too! Don't call me a dum dum head. I didn't call you poopy pants…"

"Is not…shouldn't act like one then." Antonia scowled, but it slipped into a pout as she stuck her lower lip far out. "I want my mami. She shouldn't go away and leave me."

"Poopy pants," Stevie murmured under his breath and sighed. "Sammy will come home. He always comes home. He promised me that he won't leave me."

"Am not a poopy pants, pukey face." But it was not said with much anger, her lip quivering now. " I really, really want my mami. I think it's so mean she isn't home no more."

Stevie ignored Toni's taunting, cocking his head at her. "Your mommy will come home. Did you check at home?"

Antonia shook her head. "My abuela came and got me and I'm in her house now. I wanna go home. My mami is taking FOREVER to come and get me." She rubbed her fists over her eyes, not wanting Stevie to see that she was trying not to cry.

Stevie saw how sad Toni was and he felt bad for her. He began rubbing her back, moving closer again.

" Don't be sad. Your mommy will come get you. Sammy is going to come get me from my uncle's today. He always comes."

"But what if she don't? What if she don't ever, ever?" Antonia was sniffling, still rubbing at her eyes. "I want my mami!" She looked up at Stevie, eyes shiny with unshed tears. "Are you gonna share Sammy with me if my mami don't come back?"

"She'll come back." Stevie looked around, uneasy and a little embarrassed by her behavior. "Don't cry. The teachers are going to think I made you cry…stop it. Hey, stop it! Fine, I'll share, but you gotta promise not to cry."

Rubbing her eyes again, Antonia gave a small smile. "Kay…if you share Sammy." She looked around as if to see if anyone was watching, then moved forward and hugged Stevie briefly. Then, turning her back deliberately on him like this never happened- and also so he couldn't see- she slipped her thumb in her mouth.

"I'll share him. I promise."

Stevie was shocked by her hugging him. He wanted to push her away, but he didn't want her to cry so he kept his mouth shut. "Um…you want some gummy bears? Sammy got it for me the other day."

He opened the bag and offered it to her. Eyes widening, Antonia turned around fast, giving an eager nod. Dimples cropped up in her cheeks as she removed her thumb from her mouth with a loud popping noise.

"Uh huh! I like gummy bears! And gummy worms. And gummy fishes. And gummy spiders and gummy sharks!" 

Stevie rolled his eyes at Toni's excited rants, but didn't bother to comment. "Eat up. We have to go back to class soon."

"Do not. I'm in pre-K so I get out earlier than you. I'm alllllll done today!" Antonia was stuffing gummy bears in her mouth as she spoke.

"Lucky….well, you can have the rest of these, I guess. I'll…see you later." Looking around again as though to make sure no one was watching, Stevie gave her a little nod, then walked back towards his teacher. Sam would be proud of him if he knew how super nice he was today.

88

Texts

 **Sam:** Hey, Tana. I just wanted to see how you're doing and if you're up to having some company.

 **Santana:** Yeah, I'm doing much better. Still taking it easy but I'm actually mobile and not contagious anymore. Toni's back home, so can't take it too easy, right? **  
Sam:** Thanks good to know. I get it, that's why I wanted to stop over. I can cook dinner and then the kids can play...or fight. Lol.

 **Santana:** I'm thinking "fight" is the likely choice. But Stevie did give Toni gummy bears apparently.

 **Santana:** That sounds great, but you know you don't have to cook. You can pick something up. **  
Sam:** Yeah, I think so too. Did he now? He didn't tell me that. That was nice of him.

 **Sam:** I know, but I figured that you might want something home cooked, that doesn't include soups. I bet you're sick of soups by now.

 **Santana:** Yeah, he did. Toni was very impressed with that. She loves all candy.

 **Santana:** Well I can't lie, that sounds good. You seriously don't have to though. **  
Sam:** He didn't tell me. I wonder why that is?

 **Sam:** It's my pleasure to do it. Besides, I'm going to get to spend more time with you. Can't beat that, right?

 **Santana:** Don't tell me he's starting to not totally despite my baby girl :p do we need to watch them for entirely different reasons now?

 **Santana:** I'm gonna have to raise that low bar of yours one day. **  
Sam:** I don't know. I'm beginning to worry now. He better not like her, like I like Toni's mommy, then we'd really have some problems. :P

 **Sam:** How are you going to do that?

 **Santana:** Damn right he better not. I do not need the headache of worrying ten years earlier than expected about her dating life.

 **Santana:** Oh, you'll want a surprise, believe me. **  
Sam:** Should I have a talk with him?

 **Sam:** Now I'm curious. Is this something really good? Maybe involving some nakedness?

 **Santana:** Do you think you need to?

 **Santana:** Hmmmm would this be you guessing, or you making a list of requests? **  
Sam:** I don't know. I don't want to have to, but maybe I should...to be safe?

 **Sam:** Both. Mostly requests though. :P

 **Santana:** He's five. He can't be all lusty at five, can he?

 **Santana:** Hmmm I will keep that in mind stud :p **  
Sam:** Who said anything about lust? I'm not even lusty over you. Lol.

 **Sam:** I hope you do.

 **Sam:** So what did you want me to cook for dinner?

 **Santana:** (five minutes later) You aren't?

 **Santana:** (another five minutes later) Whatever. **  
Sam:** Of course, I am...

(phone rings)

 **Sam:** [Waits a few minutes and answers] Hello?

 **Sam:** Umm... Whatever is not an answer.

 **Santana:** Why are we talking about me getting naked if you don't lust over me?

 **Santana:** I get it, I was pretty gross last time but damn. **  
Sam:** I was kidding. Do you really think that I don't lust over you?

 **Sam:** You were not gross. You were sick.

 **Santana:** I don't know...you said you didn't.

 **Santana:** Oh.

 **Santana:** I don't let people see me sick, so...I don't know, maybe you thought I was. **  
Sam:** I was joking, Tana.

 **Sam:** I have a kid brother who I treat more like a son than a brother, trust me when I say that a little snot is not going to bother me.

 **Sam:** And just so we're clear, I was trying not to jack off to your nakedness today. Does that sound like I'm grossed out by you?

 **Santana:** Right, um...so was I.

 **Santana:** Totally joking.

 **Santana:**...seriously?! hahahahahaha **  
Sam:** Uh huh... Sure.

 **Sam:** Yes, and don't laugh at me! It was hard. I was hard!

 **Santana:** Yeah, I was. Totally joking.

 **Santana:** :P :D ;) we'll have to take care of that one day **  
Sam:** One day? How about today?

 **Sam:** Kidding! I have hands and an imagination. I'll use them.

 **Santana:** Maybe I could provide you with some visual aid? (picture of herself in bra attached)  
Sam: Oh wow. Although I've seen something much more sexier in your bathroom the other day. :P

Santana: You get to keep this one though.

Sam: So… Do I have permission to use for umm… _extracurricular activities_?

Santana: Are you SERIOUSLY asking me for permission to wank to this?! You are such a dork.

Sam: Hey! I was being polite. I know how women work. Some of you ladies might get offended when a guy jerk off to your naked body or whatever.

Santana: Here's a hint, stud. Don't TELL girls you're doing it.

Sam: It would be pointless for me not to tell you when I already told you that I almost wanked off earlier. :P

Santana: I'm not a dumb woman, you don't gotta spell it out. Do whatever, just don't describe it to me lol  
Sam: Fine, I won't. But what if I want to? That might be a turn on to you. Lol.

Santana: Lemme give you a hint. Any woman who says that she's turned on by a dude jerking off is a liar.  
Sam: Not true. I heard from a friend that his girlfriend get off to that. Would she be lying if she's masturbating to him jerking off to her?

Santana: I bet your FRIEND is lying.

Sam: I've known my friend for years and he's not the kind of guy to lie about that. His girlfriend likes it.

Santana: Well she's one of the very rare few then. Anyway finish up your "stuff" and then come over, give me about an hour to try to make Toni somewhat presentable though. I've sort of been letting her be a ragamuffin lately.

Sam: That's why I'm saying that not all girls are disgusting by it. Hey! I wasn't going to do that right now. I'm waiting for the right moment, preferably after Stevie goes to bed. I'll be over in an hour. I get it, you're not feeling good, that's why my uncle helps me out when I'm sick or poor Stevie would go hungry and not to mention very dirty.

Santana: I don't let her go hungry, I'm taking care of her. Just not sweating the small stuff. My mother helped enough already.

Sam: She's fine, I'm sure. Toni's not the kind of child who would let you starve her anyway. She's vocal about stuff.

Santana: You've got that right. If she wants it, she makes it clear. Most of the time she's not getting it, but she hasn't learned that yet, or else she keeps hoping the rules will change. Anyway, see you in an hour.


	8. Chapter 8

That day at school, however, had not gone so well. That morning, the moment recess let out for the pre-K and kindergartners, Antonia had darted over to Stevie, very pleased with herself as she made her announcement.

"My mami is home! And she's lettin' me do fun stuff a lot. I don't even have to take a bath!"

Stevie moved away from her, giving her a look of disgust. "You didn't take a bath?"

Antonia nodded, proud. "Nope! I just had to wash my face and hands and do my teeth! Plus I got to watch a movie before bed and I don't get to do that mosta the time and she letted me take three stuffed animals to bed! Three!"

Stevie moved even further away, wrinkling his nose. "Did you shower this morning? How come Sam never let me do all that? He's always telling me that I need to take a bath and I always have to sleep on my bed."

Antonia shook her head, still grinning, triumphant at getting her way like this. "Nope! Mami says I gotta take a bath tonight though….I think my mami just likes me better than Sammy likes you."

Stevie's eyes widened, and he put his hands on his hip, his voice rising. "That's not true! Sammy loves me. You can't tell me different, stinky!"

"That's what I think," Antonia shrugged, not trying to be cruel, simply factual in her tone. "My mami loves me better. That's how come she's being nice to me and letting me do good stuff. Plus Sammy likes me too." But her emotions quickly flared up as Stevie called her stinky. She stomped her foot, glaring. "Am not stinky! I smell like apple soap on my hands!"

Offended, Stevie lashed out further. "Well, Sammy loves me more. I'm his brother, you're just a stinky girl who don't take showers! And I can't even smell the apple soap. I just smell poop!"

"I am not a stinky girl! I don't like showers, I take baths, you dummy! Showers get water in your eyes!" Outraged, Antonia shoved her hands in his face right under his nose. "I SMELL LIKE APPLES!"

"You are too! Stinky girl!" Stevie taunted. He made a face when she shoved her hands at him, waving his hand in front of his nose. "Eww… You stink like poopy!"

"I AM NOT A STINKY GIRL AND I DO NOT SMELL LIKE POOPY!" Antonia screamed. Furious, she reached out and shoved hard at his chest. "YOU CANNOT EVER NEVER SEE ME OR MY MAMI AGAIN YOU MEAN PEE HEAD!"

By this time, the children's screams had attracted the attention of Antonia's teacher, and within a few moments she and another teacher on duty were running towards them. Pulling Stevie and Antonia back from each other, both children received a lecture, a note to take home to their parents, and a time out from further recess time. Antonia took this all with significant pouting, but Stevie just scowled. He was really beginning to despise that Toni.

88

"I hate that girl," Stevie grumbled from the moment he got into the car after school with his brother. He slumped down in the back seat, folding his arms over his chest and scowling deeply.

"Hey, don't say that. It's not nice to say that about people," Sam chided, truly lost as to how all this transpired.

He thought that they were getting along and then today when he went to pick up Stevie from school, he was called in by the teacher. She told him that there had been an incident with Toni today and that the little girl had gotten into trouble, but so did Stevie because they were both screaming at each other.

"I don't care! I hate her. She's always so mean to me!"

"Don't make me ground you, Stevie." Sam kept his eyes on the road, but his tone was stern and he meant business.

"You love her more than me! She can never do no wrong to you. I'm always the bad one." Stevie's lips began to quiver, tears prickling behind his eyes. "I wish I had died and gone with mommy and daddy."

Hearing those words, Sam pulled up at the nearest grocery store, parking on the empty side of the lot, before turning to his brother. He could tell that he was about to cry and it broke his heart into a million pieces.

He cupped his cheeks and said, "Don't you ever say that, you hear me? You're my brother, I would die if you weren't here." Tears of his own started blurring his vision before it spilled free, dampening his cheeks. "Don't you know that you're the only reason why I'm still standing? I can't lose you, Stevie… I just can't."

He had never admitted this, but after his parents died, he went into a great depression. Stevie helped him to snap out of it. His then 2 year old brother, helped him get out from underneath the gray clouds and focus on the things that mattered most. His little brother.

"Don't cry, Sammy…" Stevie said sobbing. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry."

"You can't say that you want to die, okay? I can't take hearing that. You're all I have, Stevie. I don't have anyone else here. If you died, I wouldn't know what to do with myself."

"But you always act like I'm in the way. Everything I do is wrong and Toni is always right."

Sam was puzzled by this. He never thought that he favored Toni over Stevie before. Toni had always been vocal with what he wanted, while Stevie was silent. He never acted up unless something was wrong.

"You know that's not true. I love you. You're my little man. Toni could never replace that."

Stevie didn't believe this, so he shook his head and looked away.

"Stevie, you believe me, don't you?" Sam asked in a soft tone.

"No. You say that now and then later you'll yell at me for every little thing again. I don't want to get yelled at anymore. I tried to be nice to her, but she was mean to me. She said that her mommy loves her more and that you love her more too." His lips began to quiver again.

Sam understood everything now. It was like ice cold water had been splashed on his face. Stevie felt left out and that he might abandon him too.

"Stevie, I love you more than anything else in this world, you shouldn't let Toni or anyone else make you feel any differently. Toni didn't mean to hurt your feelings…"

Stevie didn't reply, he simply folded his arms and looked out the window.

"Are you not going to talk to me now?" Sam asked again a few ticks later.

Still, he got no answer.

Feeling defeated and frankly, exhausted, he started up the car and drove off the parking lot. He didn't know how he was going to fix things with Stevie or convince him that he loved him, maybe someday he would believe him. He could only hope for it to come sooner rather than later.

88

From the moment Santana started to get Antonia ready for Sam and Stevie to come over, it's been something of a battle. She had been less than thrilled by the announcement that Stevie, who was apparently, gummy bears or not, a "pee pee head," was coming too, and she had pouted and protested, especially when Santana made her get a bath and change her clothes. She was still pouting, lip stuck out, arms crossed over her chest, when the doorbell rang, and Santana ignored her to respond to it. Maybe Antonia's declaration that she wasn't talking to Stevie at all, not even one time tonight, would come true and give her a break, but she doubted it. She smiled as she opened the door, looking Sam up and down.

"Hey you…hey Stevie." To Sam she added, "Look at me, all dressed and standing on my own feet."

Things had been pretty quiet between him and Stevie after the heart they had in the car. Sam couldn't believe half the things that Stevie had said, and he wondered if the talk had helped put his brother's mind at ease, but he couldn't be sure. He loved his little brother and couldn't imagine life without him, especially now that he no longer had parents, but maybe he wasn't doing such a great job at raising him…

"Hey, you look beautiful." Sam gave her half a smile as he and Stevie entered the doorway.

"Hey," Stevie greeted Santana but didn't make a move to walk inside.

Santana had always been pretty perceptive at picking up unspoken cues, maybe to the point of paranoia. She noticed Sam's half smile and the fact that Stevie didn't come inside and seemed to be hanging back. She glanced back at Antonia to make sure she was still staying put and not wreaking havoc somewhere before turning back to them, keeping her voice light. "Hey, everything okay?"

"Stevie why don't you go inside, buddy. Go play with Toni." Sam urged.

Stevie looked at him sadly and said, "Can I sit down in the living room? I don't want to play…"

Something in his tone of voice broke Sam's heart, but he didn't want to argue or cause a scene, so he nodded, "Yeah, go do that."

Stevie walked slowly, as if it was a chore just to get inside and sat down on the sofa, quietly looking ahead of him, not making a move to even talk to Toni.

"No… But I don't want to unload on you. It's not fair to you," Sam said to Santana finally, his voice an undertone.

Santana glanced back at them again and stepped closer to Sam, lowering her voice. "If you can help me take a bath when I'm sick, I can listen to you when you're upset. What's wrong?"

"I don't know if I should, Tana. You're still recovering and I don't want to make you sick again…" Sam sighed. "Anyway, where's your kitchen? I should start cooking."

"Sam, I really doubt that you talking to me is going to make me sick, since I'm pretty sure it's germs that do that," Santana crossed her arms over her chest, an unconscious imitation of her daughter. "You're going to drive me crazy if you won't. If it's private, I get it, but if you just don't want to "burden" me then that's crap, because it won't be."

Sam walked into the kitchen, out of Stevie's earshot, before whispering. "I hurt Stevie. He thinks I don't love him and he said to me earlier that he should have just died when our parents died. I'm a bad brother, Tana. I made him feel like I don't love him."

Santana followed Sam, listening to him closely. She frowned, whispering back, "You're a wonderful brother. Not everyone would do for Stevie what you do. He's a little boy, he's hurt and confused because his family is different and he misses his parents, not because you're a bad brother or because you don't love him enough." Still, it bothered her to think of a little boy saying he should have died .She couldn't imagine how much it would hurt to hear Toni say something like that.

"Maybe you need to have some special time with him. It doesn't have to be buying him stuff or doing anything to spoil him, just…I don't know. I don't get Toni everything she wants, but I make sure I cuddle her a lot and carry her and tell her how much I love her. I know that might be strange since he's your brother, not your son, but maybe that's what he needs."

Sam listened to Santana's advice and took in everything that she said, "That's the thing. I thought that we were doing fine. I spend as much time with him as possible. He has T-Ball that I coach and then we watch TV or movies together. I don't really do the cuddling thing, but that's a guy thing. Do you think that cuddling will work? I used to cuddle with him all the time, but now that he's bigger, I find it a bit weird, you know." He rubbed the back of his head, "Maybe we should start cuddling again."

"Well, all I know is that Antonia loves cuddling, she would be upset if we stopped, and I honestly plan to keep cuddling with her for as long as she lets me. I think he probably needs that, Sam," Santana told him honestly, looking up at him. "He's only five, and he's lost his parents. Yeah, it's probably weird for you, but I bet you'll get used to it after a while. Maybe even like it."

Stevie was sitting next to Antonia, though with a good distance between them, and she shot him a look, not speaking, but suspicious. She noticed how sad he looked after a while, and couldn't help but break her vow to her mother. "What's wrong with you?"

Stevie felt like crying, he didn't know why he let Toni's words get the best of him, but he did. Maybe it was because every one of his friends had parents to love them. He didn't have that. He only had Sammy and to hear that Sammy didn't love him as much as Toni's mommy loved hers made him really sad.

"Nothing. Don't talk to me." He looked away and folded his arms

Antonia frowned, giving an impatient little grunt and scooting closer to him, peering directly into his face as much as she could with him turned away. "You are looking sad. How come you look sad? How come?"

Stevie refused to talk to Toni. She had made him sad, and he didn't want to fight with her anymore. He shook his head and folded his arms, glaring at her to get away from him before looking back to the other end of the room.

Antonia was not at all used to being ignored. She huffed louder this time, then stood up and walked around him so she was standing in front of his face again. "Didn't you hear me? I said what's wrong, I said you look sad! Why are you sad, Stevie? Why are you not talking to me? "

Stevie was getting really annoyed now. Toni didn't want to leave him alone and she was in his face. "Go away. I don't want to talk to you. You're mean. I don't want to talk to mean people." He frowned at her and once again turned his head away from her.

Offended, Antonia shook her head at him, again walking around to where his head was facing and getting in front of him. "I am not neither mean! I have not said one mean thing to you, not even ONE, and I didn't even want you to come over, so I have not been mean, I've been very very nice! So tell me how come you're sad now!"

Hearing Antonia raising her voice, Santana went to the doorway of the living room. "Antonia, what are you doing? Give Stevie some space."

Antonia looked up at her, her voice almost innocent, yet aggravated. "I am being nice to him Mami! He won't talk to me!"

Stevie folded his arms, closed his eyes and shook his head. No, he wasn't going to talk to Toni. He didn't want to get into trouble anymore and he didn't want to see Sammy cry either, so he stood his ground in not saying a word.

Santana eyed the situation, knowing there was more to it than what Antonia was reporting. She took her daughter by the hand and pulled her back from him gently, shaking her head at her.

"Toni, we've talked about giving people space. Stevie, if you need to some to relax tonight, that's okay. You can watch whatever you'd like on TV or I can get you some crayons to draw with."

She pulled Antonia into the kitchen with her and Sam, lifted her onto her hip, and looked her in the eye very seriously until Antonia's pout went away, a serious look replacing it as she noticed her mother meant business. "Toni, Stevie is our guest tonight, and that means we try to be very polite. If he is feeling bad tonight and doesn't want to talk about it, then the polite thing to do is let him be or try to do something to help him feel better. What you were doing was not helping him feel better because you were trying to get him to talk and standing too close to him."

Antonia considered this, her brow furrowing, and Santana watched her to make sure she understood before putting her back down. "You can color or watch TV with him but only if you are very nice to him and don't ask him to talk. I mean REALLY nice, Antonia."

Sam walked back into the living room and saw that Stevie had his eyes closed, ignoring everything that was going on. He walked over, knelt before Stevie and asked, "Hey buddy, are you okay?"

Santana gestured for her to go down the hallway to her bedroom when she saw that Sam was talking to Stevie. She followed her, helping her choose some coloring books and crayons and starting a playful tickle battle to delay the time it would take for them to get back to the living room, so Sam could talk if he needed to.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Stevie said simply, not really in the mood to talk. He was sad and tired of talking. Talking never resolved anything. It only made him feel bad.

Sam was at a loss for words. His attempts at talking were futile, but he couldn't give up. This was his little brother he was talking about, not some random little boy. Before things could get even worse between them, he had to act, so he picked Stevie up and put him on his lap.

"Things are not okay and you are not okay, so we need to talk… I'm sorry I made you feel bad or like I didn't care or love you more than anything else in the world. I love you, Stevie. I really do. No one could ever replace you…"

Stevie was actually a little surprised when Sam put him on his lap. His brother hadn't done that for a long time. He never complained, but sometimes he wanted some of his attention and affection because all the other little girls and boys got it from their parents. "I'm sorry too for making you sad," He said softly. "I don't want to lose you, Sammy. Sometimes I feel like I am."

"You would never lose me, buddy. That can never happen. You and I are always going to be brothers. No one can ever take that bond away from us." Sam tried to reassure his brother.

Stevie nodded and buried his face on the crook of Sam's neck. "So you don't love Toni more than me right?"

"No, I don't. I like Toni, she's a great girl, but I love you. Can you promise me something?" Sam asked, "Can you promise to be nice to each other? I really like Toni's mommy and it would be nice if you two could get along."

"I'll try, but she's so mean sometimes…" Stevie sighed, "I don't even want to fight with her, but she always say mean things to me."

"Well, if that's the case, then you walk away or don't say anything at all. There's no shame in being the bigger person. You are older than she is you know. You should set a good example," Sam said as kindly as possible.

Stevie sighed again, he didn't know if he was going to be able to do that, but for Sammy, he would. "Okay…" He sat up straighter then and asked, "I'm hungry. Can we eat now?"

Sam chuckled at this, "I have to cook first, but I'll see if Tana has some snacks you could have before dinner. Now, I need to get up, so I can feed everybody." He kissed his little brother on the cheek, sat him on his feet and stood up, heading back into the kitchen.

After Antonia had collapsed in a giggling heap on the floor, Santana further delayed with her, picking her up on her lap and sitting on her bed with her. Smoothing her hair back from her face, she smiles down at her, but her voice is serious. "I missed you while I was sick."

"I missed you too, Mami," Antonia told her, smiling. "Don't never leave again."

"I want to talk to you about Stevie," Santana said to her quietly, smoothing back her hair. "I don't want to scare you, baby, because I don't want you to worry that I'll ever leave you. I will never let that happen as long as I can help it. But Stevie's parents had to leave him. They didn't want to, and now Stevie only has Sam. Just like you don't have a daddy, Stevie doesn't have a mami OR a daddy. I want you to think about that when you feel like teasing him or being mean to him sometimes. Think how sad you would be if you didn't have your mami."

She watched as Antonia's eyes grew big and she threw her arms around her mother's neck, as though to physically prevent her from leaving her. Santana patted her, saying quietly, "I won't leave. I just want you to think about that for Stevie."

"Are you sure you won't never leave me like Stevie's mommy and daddy left him?" Antonia was worried now, anxiously searching her mother's eyes. Santana tickled her to make her giggle, then kissed both cheeks, looking her seriously in the eyes.

"Baby, I promise you I will never leave you as long as I possibly can help it if you promise you'll never leave me either."

As Antonia promised earnestly, Santana hugged her again, then stood, taking her hand. "Now remember what we talked about when we go back to see Sam and Stevie."

Still holding her hand, she lead her back into the kitchen, giving Sam a somewhat tired smile. Antonia stared at Stevie, one finger in her mouth somewhat shyly, but she didn't address him.

"Hey, do you have any snacks? Stevie's hungry. He didn't touch his afternoon snack and now he's suffering." Sam chuckled.

"Sure…Toni, why don't you show him some of our snacks," Santana looked down at her pointedly. Toni, her fingers still in her mouth, looked down, but then nodded at Stevie, going to the cabinet.

"We got chips. And fruit snacks. And juice. And apples and bananas."

Stevie didn't want to talk to Toni. His feelings were still hurt from what she said to him earlier, but he was also hungry, so he followed her to the cabinet and looked at the array of snacks she had. Then he looked at Santana and asked sweetly, "Can I please have a juice, chips and banana please?"

Sam watched the two, but didn't say a word. He could only hope that they would get along, but at this point who even knew if that was going happen. The best thing to do right now was make sure they don't kill each other.

"Yes, you can, go ahead," Santana told him with a smile, again looking to her daughter. "Can you get those for him, please, honey?"

Antonia didn't complain, but instead did what her mother asked. When her back was turned Santana turned to Sam, slipping an arm around his waist. "Think I scared her for the night."

"You think so?" Sam was still watching the both of them. So far they were not saying anything to each other and maybe that was for the best. No screaming meant no headache for him and Santana. "What did you tell her exactly?"

"I reminded her of how much she missed me for the few days she was at my mother's," Santana told him, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Then I reminded her of how Stevie's mommy and daddy left him forever and told her to think of how sad she would be if I had to leave her like that. I'll be surprised if she makes it through the night without bursting into tears."

Sam nodded and wrapped an arm around Santana's mid section. Although it was a sad subject, he was glad that Santana tried to explain things to Toni. It needed to be said because the way the two was going at each other, it would be a matter of time before someone really got hurt. "Thank you, Tana." He kissed her on the forehead. "That was very nice of you. Maybe the kids will get along better now and stop fighting so much…"

"Yeah, that's me. Soooo nice." Santana rolled her eyes, but spoke still in an undertone even as she kept an eye on Antonia getting Stevie's snack. "Seriously though, I was a terrible kid and a worse teenager. I don't want her to be like I was. And I don't want her to feel like being sensitive is a bad thing. So I'm not exactly discouraging her from it."

Somehow, Sam couldn't believe that Santana was a mean person, even when she was a teenager. She was always nice to him. Sure, she teased him, but who didn't? It was only human to tease the people you like. "I don't believe you for a minute. I don't think you're mean at all and I honestly doubt that Toni will grow up to be a mean girl. She's so sweet… Just that smile alone could melt you. She's just like you, you know."

"You didn't know me then, and you really don't know me now either," Santana said quietly, not meeting his eyes. "I was voted most likely to poison people in high school, Sam. And the part about Toni being just like me? That's what scares me. I love her to death but I see the potential there."

Sam frowned at her statement. He didn't know how to respond to her admission. She didn't seem like the vindictive mean type, but then again he didn't know her. "You know what I think? I think that your past should remain in the past. You can only mold your future and you are trying to mold Toni into the little lady that she should be. You are doing a great job, so don't knock down your achievements, okay?"

"I'm trying," Santana managed a small smile, squeezing him slightly. "I'm trying. And I'm proud of her."

Antonia shuffled back to her then, looking up at her mother for approval, a pucker of worry still furrowing her brow. "Mami I gotted him a snack. Okay? I'm being very, very nice."

Santana smiled at her, reaching down to stroke her hair. "Good girl, I'm happy."

When Toni came over, Sam wanted to pull the girl over and pinch her chubby cheeks. She was being so good and not to mention, adorable too. He let the mother and daughter have their moment and called out to Stevie.

"How are you doing, Stevie?"

He got a toothy grin and a thumbs up as a reply, which had him chuckling. "I swear, I should just ply Stevie with food more often. I better start cooking. I don't know about you,but I'm getting really hungry."

"After days of not eating I'm FINALLY starting to get hungry too, so this food of yours better be good," Santana teased, patting her stomach.

She disentangled from him reluctantly to let him go cook. She, unlike Sam, saw no reason to keep from pinching Toni's chubby cheeks, so she did so lightly, ending it with a tweak to her nose. Antonia yelped and scowled at her, but Santana knew perfectly well it didn't hurt, especially when the little girl attempted to attach to her leg afterward.

"Come on, Antonita Bonita, why don't you ask Stevie what he would like to do after his snack? You don't have to do it with him, but it would be very nice of you to see what he would like to do and let him do it if he's allowed."

"Okay," Antonia agreed, going to do so, and Santana raised an eyebrow at Sam.

"I have an angel daughter. How long will this last, two minutes? Three? Thirty seconds?"

Sam gathered all the ingredients he needed to make dinner and started on it by chopping up onions and garlic. A few minutes later, he was all done and ready to start cooking when he heard Tana's remark, he laughed.

"I don't know, she's your daughter, you tell me. I hope it's longer than thirty seconds though. It's nice not to hear them squabbling all the time."

Santana remained close to Sam as he cooked, occasionally glancing over her shoulder to make sure the children were still behaving. "Normally I'd say a minute, but she's on a roll at the moment. Can I help with anything?"

"Give her the benefit of the doubt. She's being good…" Sam chuckled, "Yeah, you can help me with the vegetables. Will you chop those up for me? I'm going to start on the beef." As he spoke, he kept busy with slicking the beef into biteable portions.

Santana did as Sam suggested, starting to chop. She stayed close to him, just enjoying being with him, being able to look over at him and knowing she could touch him if she wanted. A faint smile remained on her face every time she looked his way.

When she glanced back at her daughter she sees that the little girl is sitting quietly a few feet away from Stevie, her thumb in her mouth. Snorting, Santana shook her head, whispering to Sam, "Maybe I overdid it just a little bit."

Sam looked up, eyes going straight to Toni who was looking like a cute wounded puppy if he was being honest, "She's really cute when she's like that. Must have gotten that from you too." He said kissing her on the cheek. "She'll be okay. They'll learn to communicate better now…I hope."

Santana smiled at him, then tried to pretend outrage. "I NEVER am cute and I certainly never pout like that. Lies. All lies."

As she watched though, Antonia's brow wrinkled in thought, and she gave a deep sigh. Suddenly she reached over and tapped Stevie. "Stevie? I got a question."

Stevie felt a lot better after his snack. He was even willing to play with Toni if she would ask him. "What question?" he asked when she tapped him on the shoulder.

Toni took a deep breath, eyes wide and earnest, and said, "If you share your Sammy with me I will share my mami sometimes. Okay?"

Stevie whipped his head so fast, he thought he was going to get whiplash from it. "What did you say? You want me to share Sammy with you?" He chewed on his bottom lip and concentrated really hard, "I don't know… I don't like sharing. I gotta think about it."

Antonia nodded solemly, staring up at him unblinking. "Please. Please. Please. I don't wanna share my mami but I will 'cause I love my mami very much and you don't got one and I don't got a daddy so you gotta share."

"Nuh uh… I don't wanna share." Stevie replied, adamantly shaking his head.

Antonia's eyes widened, and her lower lip started to stick out as she said with more urgency, "But you gotta. You gotta share. Sharing is nice and I said I would."

"I don't wanna share. You were mean to me. I don't share with mean people." Stevie scowled, he really didn't want to talk to Toni anymore. "You didn't even say sorry for earlier. You're not nice to me. Why should I share Sammy with you?"

Antonia's lip quivered more visibly, and her eyes filled, then overflowed. She didn't sob or make noise, she just stood in front of him with tears streaking towards her chin as she whimpered, "I was being nice. I was letting you borrow my mami if I can borrow a daddy. I'm being nice. I'm being nice…I'm sorry you don't got a mami or daddy. I don't wanna not have a mami and a daddy." Never mind that her mother is literally in the next room. At the moment she's half convinced she's going to leave at any second.

Stevie felt bad the minute he saw the tears in Toni's eyes. He didn't want to get into trouble again, so he sighed and waved his hands all around. "Stop crying. Sammy is gonna see you and think I made you cry. Your mommy is not going nowhere. My mommy and daddy left not because they wanted to. Your mommy won't leave you." He could see that she wasn't going to let up anytime soon, so he relented even though he didn't want to. "Fine. We can share. Are you happy now?" He scowled, folding his arms again.

Antonia sniffled and wiped at her cheeks, looking up at him with hope. "Really? I can borrow your Sammy and you can borrow my mami? Yay!" She smiled, dimples flashing briefly, and then leaned forward to hug Stevie.

"Yes, really. Now stop crying." Stevie rolled his eyes when Toni hugged him. "Can you stop hugging me? I can't breathe…" He whined pretending to sound as if he was being strangled.

Antonia let go, taking a few steps back, and clapped her hands. "I'm gonna tell them that Sammy is my new daddy and my mami is your new sometimes pretend mami!" That's the most she's willing to give him.

"Sammy is not your new daddy. He has to marry your mommy first and they're not married, so you can't tell anyone!" Stevie retorted smugly.

"HE IS TOO!" Antonia shouted, all peace between her and Stevie forgotten at this declaration. She puts her hands on her hips, shaking her finger at Stevie. "Take it back! He is too, you said you were gonna share so you can't be selfish now! You said so!"

Santana had completely forgotten the kids. She locked her arms around Sam's neck, pressing herself against him as she kissed him playfully. For about thirty seconds. She remembered the kids pretty fast when her daughter burst into the room, shouting indignantly.

"Mamiiiiii Stevie said he would share Sammy if I share you and now he's taking it back and says he isn't my daddy anymore when I was being so nice to him and I was SHARING!" She stopped, blinking, and tilted her head curiously. "Ew, you do kissing?"

Sam's mind was focused solely on Santana at the moment. "You are so distracting," He told her between a half groan and whisper. But all thoughts of getting any sexual relief stopped when Toni ran into the room and began shouting something about Stevie on sharing.

"He is not your daddy! Stop calling him your daddy!" Stevie shouted back indignantly. He didn't care what she said, he didn't want to share Sammy when he didn't have to. He followed her into the kitchen, scrunching up his face when he saw Sammy and Santana kissing. "Gross!"

It took every bit of self control Santana possessed not to scream in frustration. Slowly, reluctantly she pulled back a little from Sam, taking a deep breath and letting her eyes roll up to the ceiling before she paid attention to the children. She kept hold of Sam's hand regardless, giving it a squeeze as she turned to them.

"HE IS TOO! YOU SAID YOU WOULD SHARE!" Antonia bellowed, clearly put out. She stamped her foot at him. "You said so! Mami can be your sometimes mami and you share your Sammy!"

Santana had to take another breath before she responded. "Toni…did you know that people can be nice to you and fun to be with, and not have to be your family? Sometimes people can just be nice people to be with."

Antonia looked at her like she had just said the stupidest thing she ever heard. "I know that. My teacher in pre-K is not my mami. But you didn't even listen. This is about sharing and telling truth, Mami."

Sam wished that he could act up, stomp his feet and demand the kids leave him and Santana alone so that they could continue to make out, but he knew that it was not meant to be. The two were at each other's throats AGAIN! "What happened now, Stevie?" He asked his little brother, sighing.

"She said that she wants you to be her daddy and I told her that she can't have you. You're not going to marry her mommy." Stevie was so hell bent on getting his way, he didn't even think about what Sam might want. "You're not going to marry her mommy, are you, Sammy?"

Why did his brother like to put him in the spot like this? That question was something he couldn't answer. He liked Santana, and he wanted to be with her, but as for marriage? He didn't know if that was going to happen. They had only started dating after all. Besides, who's to say that Santana wanted to marry him anyway?

"I don't know, Stevie. I can't answer your question right now."

This is more than a little awkward. Her daughter just caught her making out, her daughter is STILL demanding to have Sam as a father and putting him on the spot, and now Stevie is making it obvious that he doesn't want his brother to marry her. Santana could not think of a worse possible conversation in the moment to have.

Deciding distraction was the only way to go, she reached for Antonia, taking her onto her hip, and started to dance around the room, silly as she could. Antonia wiggled and protested at first, wanting down, but Santana held on. She reached down to ruffle Stevie's hair, gesturing for him to join in, and then reached for Sam's hand to attempt clumsily to twirl him while still holding Antonia.

Sam had no clue what else to say to his little brother. This was a subject the neither he nor Santana was ready to answer. Thankfully, Santana had saved them both by pulling the kids and dancing with them. He was not much of a dancer, but if dancing meant saving them both from answering more questions, then he was going to suck it up and do it. He joined the group, dancing like a fool and forgetting all about the earlier awkward questioning.


	9. Chapter 9

Texts

 **SANTANA:** So I conned Mami into watching Antonia for the whole night this Friday.

 **SAM:** Did you now? What do you planned for Friday? **  
SANTANA:** I don't know, depends on if you're also good at conning someone into taking a little boy.

 **SAM:** Oh so you want some alone time with yours truly? I can drop Stevie off at my uncles.

 **SAM:** But what did you want to do on Friday? **  
SANTANA:** You could say that.

 **SANTANA:** I want to be with you. Isn't that obvious? Do I need to hire someone to write it in sparkles in the sky?

 **SAM:** Good to know.

 **SAM:** That's a sweet gesture, but that's okay, you can just have dinner with me. **  
SANTANA:** Sam.

 **SANTANA:** I got my daughter with my mom for the ENTIRE night AND the next morning for a reason.

 **SAM:** Entire night?

 **SAM:** This reason is sounding good even before you tell me what it is. **  
SANTANA:** Just come over.

 **SAM:** Fine, bossy... 

88

Although she didn't show it on the phone, Santana was nervous. She straightened up everything she could think to as she waited for Sam to arrive and changed her outfit three times, finally settling on snug shorts and a tank top.

Sam had been looking forward to this night for what seemed like forever. He might be getting ahead of himself with this, but he wanted to get her alone so that they could get intimate. That night, as usual, he bought her flowers and some chocolates too this time. He checked his breath a few times and when he was sure that everything was going to be okay, he rang the doorbell.

When Sam rang the doorbell Santana jumped up, then made an effort to walk like it doesn't matter, just in case he's looking in and watching. She wished for the last time she could change before opening the door, grinning when she saw his gifts. She still wasn't used to this.

" Damn, did it become February suddenly?" She reached to take the flowers and candy under one arm and reached to pull him close into a kiss with the other.

Sam's mouth hung open when he saw Santana. She was more than sexy and it took everything in him not to jump on her and have his wicked ways with her. He let out a whistle, eyes bulging like saucers.

"Damn, you look hot. You know I always bring you flowers. I added some chocolates to the mix this time though. I hope you like them." He smiled and kissed her back.

Santana laughed, appreciating the expression, as silly as it was. "Little old me? Thank you kindly, sir. I do aim to please." She deepened the kiss, pressing her full length into him and ending it with a slight nip to his lower lip. " I don't know if we'll get around to eating. Chocolate."

Sam moaned as Santana deepened the kiss, their tongues colliding together. "God, you're killing me right now… Oh, we can definitely eat the chocolate." He moved her inside and closed the door with his foot, pulling her even closer this time as their lips continued to be fused together.

Santana's nails dug into his shoulders and she slipped her leg in between his as she ground against him slightly, almost putting her full weight into him as she gasped between kissing. "Stand or-?"

"Shit…" Sam hissed, his eyes rolling back as he felt Santana's hot core grounding on his crotch area. "Couch?" He looked at the couch and then back at her waiting for her answer.

She nodded, still breathless, and started to walk backwards, pulling Sam with her. Pushing him slightly down to the couch, she straddled him, pressing her bare legs into his as she let her hair tickle his chest and shoulders, her mouth attaching to his again. Sam landed on the couch with a thud, not even caring if he was in pain–not that he was. Santana was straddling his lap while that kissed and knowing that she was taking charge was such a huge turn on for him.

" You are so sexy… " he muttered, running his hands up and down her body.

It's been years since Santana has been touched like this, and her whole body seems to be waking up to his hands and his mouth on hers. She groaned, squeezing him with her thighs as she began to kiss her way down his jawline and towards his throat. Sam tried to give Santana all the control, but his resolve was slipping quickly. With every kiss and nip of her sexy lips on his throat and jawline, he was slowly breaking. All too quickly, he had flipped her over, his mouth claiming hers again and his right hand going under her shirt to touch her where it mattered, on her supple breast.

Santana absolutely loved it when Sam took back control. He was changing it up on her, keeping it excited and fresh, and she liked the feel of his body over hers, his heavier form solid and warm against her skin. Her nipple stiffened immediately under his touch, and she stifled a moan against his lips.

Feeling impatient, Sam kissed down her body, lifting up her shirt and bra, biting his lips as he was once again reacquainted with her supple breasts. Then without much thought or warning, he lowered his head, taking the right bud into his mouth and swirling his tongue around it. Santana's back arched beneath him, and she groaned aloud, bucking her hips against Sam. Her nipple hardened against his tongue and she grabbed his hand, guiding it to her other breast.

Sam liked the way that Santana was reacting, it made him feel good and he wanted to give her more. When she guided his hand to her other breast, he got the message and began massaging. Santana's breasts were very sensitive, all the more so because it's been so long since someone touched them. Eyes closed, she reached out blindly to stroke her hands up Sam's thighs and then fumbled for his zipper. Sam groaned, feeling Tana's hand so close to his crotch, but he didn't let up his actions. Opening her eyes to manage the zipper, Santana slipped her hands inside Sam's pants and cupped him, stroking her thumb over his penis's length. She was breathing fast, her eyes on his.

Sam's actions halted as he felt Santana's hand on his dick. His breath hitched and eyes were threatening to roll back. "Oh fuck," he groaned, pulling away from what he was doing for a minute to rest his head on her chest. "Don't stop…"

Santana smiled slightly at his reaction. She increased the speed and intensity of her strokes, rubbing her thumb over its head. Her free hand stroked through his hair, fingers scraping his scalp lightly.

Sam's mind was a jumbled mess. Her hand was driving him out of his mind. If this was good, he wondered what it would be like to be inside her. His whole body was tingling, but he didn't want to cum prematurely so he pulled back.

"I need a minute."

He blew out a breath and decides to change tactics by pleasuring her instead. He went back into his original position, but this time his right hand had disappeared inside her shorts, stroking her pussy and rubbing circles around her clit.

Reluctantly Santana withdrew her hand, searching his face. She had thought he was happy, wasn't he? But when his hand slipped inside her shorts, she sucked in her breath, her eyes lighting up with intense pleasure at his touch. She attached her lips to his neck, sucking at his skin as she reached for his hand with her free hand, guiding him. He smirked when Santana put her hand on his and guided the process, eyes rolling back as she sucked the spot that always drove him crazy.

"Fuck…"

His fingers didn't let up. One teasing her entrance and the other drawing circles on her sweet spot Santana's tongue teased his skin, drawing circles and then tracing it before she sucked again. Her hips bucked against his hand as he hit her own spot, and she moaned, guiding his hand in faster, almost jerky motions. Sam rocked his hips along with the motion of his hands, trying to find some kind of relief for his achingly hard dick. He could feel that she was going to release sometime soon and he did not let up.

Santana cummed after another minute of frantically pushing his hand and rocking her hips in fast rhythm against it. Eyes squeezed shut, she cried out, head thrown back as her body tensed up with the intensity of her response. Chest heaving, she slid her hand back down Sam's pants, still not calmed down herself.

Hearing and feeling Santana releasing was the best feeling in the world. He watched her face the whole time and thought that she looked beautiful in the throes of passion.

"You're beautiful," he muttered, kissing her lips softly, letting out a groan when he felt her hand down on his crotch again.

Santana smiled into the kiss, loving hearing his groan at her touch. She took his penis into her hand again, wrapping her hand around it and caressing her thumb over its shaft, teasingly slow at first, then rubbing. Sam's eyes rolled back as he felt Santana's soft hand on his dick. It felt so perfect and because he hadn't had sex in a long while, his ending approached him like a freight train. "

"Oh shit… That feels good."

Feeling him tense, Santana began to gently knead him in her fist, squeezing lightly as her thumb continued to rub. She grinned at his expression, leaning in to kiss him. All kinds of expletives flowed through his mind as he experienced the pleasure. It was muffled out by Santana's kiss which he returned wholeheartedly. Soon he couldn't hold it in anymore. He groaned loudly and came on Santana's hand.

Santana laughed against his lips, kissing him one more time before pulling away. She gave him a few more gentle strokes to wind him down, then wiped her hand on Sam's pant leg teasingly.

"Take it you enjoyed."

Sam gulped and nodded his head. "More than enjoyed it." He chuckled and gave Santana a chaste kiss. "Thank you. I really needed that. I can't remember the last time I had sex…"

Santana laughed again, not admitting that this was the case for her too. "Probably not great bedroom talk, babe. I'll give you a pass since we're in the living room."

"Hey, I'm telling the truth. I haven't had sex in forever. I think the last time was in High School. You should be happy that I'm not the type of guy who would sleep around with any available woman."

"I'm not exactly disappointed," Santana smiled, stroking her fingers through his hair. "Truth? Me neither, since Toni."

It made him happy to know that it had been a while since Santana had sex too. " That's good to know. It sounds like we have a lot more in common than we think."

"Bet I taste better." She winked, one hand lingering on his thigh.

He raised a brow. "Is that a challenge?"

"Do you want it to be?"

"I can make it whatever you want it to be, and to answer your question, yes, I want it to be a challenge, but only if you are up for another round." He winked at her.

Santana looked him in the eye, then smiled after a few moments. Slowly she stood, slipping out of her shorts. Sam's gaze moved from Santana's eyes down to her crotch as she teasingly slipped off her shorts, baring her sex to him. He licked his lips and moved down into position, opening her legs and presenting her sex to his eyes.

"I've had dreams of this…" He parted her folds, lowered his head and proceeded to pleasure her.

Santana parted her legs a little more for him, a thrill running up her spine as she felt Sam's head tickle her inner thighs. She sucked her breath in sharply as his tongue penetrated her, teasing her core, and she dug her nails into his shoulders, holding on to brace herself as her breath came fast and she quickly grew wet. Sam concentrated on her hardened nub, licking it and then pumping his fingers into her core. He hummed around her clit, to give her extra stimulation. His eyes were drifted up, looking at her reaction and damn, was it hot to see her in the throes of passion. He could feel her digging her nails on his shoulders and that gave him the motivation to go on.

Santana was already very easily aroused from his earlier attentions, and now, she's already on the edge. Panting, she tugged at his hair, her chest rising and falling rapidly with her excited breaths as she felt herself get close. "Fuck!"

Sam felt the sting from getting his hair pulled, but he didn't let up. He needed Santana to cum, so he increased his motions, licking and sucking her clit and thrusting his fingers into her even faster. Santana came with a near shriek, her thighs clinching together to temporarily trap Sam between. She kept her eyes squeezed shut, her muscles twitching, taking some time to come down from her high, a huge smile lighting up her face.

To feel Santana letting go was the best feeling in the world. He didn't let up though, licking her still to intensify her climax. Then when she stopped shaking, he kissed his way up her body, ending it on her lips.

"See, I told you that I could do it."

Santana kissed Sam back intently, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her body fully against his. She was barely aware that she was still half naked, dripping her arousal slightly down her inner thigh as she buried her face in his neck, catching her breath.

"I was gonna tease you somehow but I'm sorta speechless," she laughed, squeezing him. "So…good job."

Sam chuckled at her remark. "Speechless is really good. And thank you. I think I did great too." He sighed and just held her close while she got herself together.

Santana waited for her heartbeat to slow down, then, giving a little kiss to Sam's neck, pulled back, looking up at him wryly. She didn't know how it was possible that she could know someone for such a short time and feel so comfortable, so close, and so freaking turned on too. All she wanted to do right now was feel him touch her, and not even just in a sex way. Even just lying in bed over his chest seemed like exactly the way to spend her evening. She shook her head, laughing at herself.

"How the hell do you do this? Shit, I wasn't even sure I still liked guys before I got knocked up with Toni, and I never messed around with anyone once she was here."

She didn't realize at first that she had just heavily implied to him that she's bisexual, something she very rarely discusses with anyone.

"I don't know, but I feel the same way about you. I've never felt more connected to a woman than I do you." But then his brows rose. "Wait, what do you mean you weren't sure you liked guys? Are you…a lesbian?"

Santana tensed up at his question, pulling back from him a little more and crossing her arms over her chest. Because it was something she hadn't really talked about, she was sensitive about it and wasn't sure she liked what seemed to her to be his discomfort. "If I was a lesbian do you think I'd be jerking you off?"

Sam sat up, feeling like an idiot for what he said. "I had to ask, Tana. I didn't want to be the only one who's all in on this. If you were a lesbian, we could still be friends, but since you're not, I don't see a problem with this at all." 

"I'm bisexual. Is that a problem?" She looked him in the eye, arms still crossed.

"No. As long as you're into me, I'm good." He paused. "You are into me, right?"

Santana looked down at herself pointedly, finally relaxing into a smirk. "Sam, I'm standing here half naked dripping down my leg. It's safe to say I'm into you."

Sam sighed in relief and then pulled Santana back to him. "That's a relief because I'm really attracted to you and not just in a sexual way either." He kissed her forehead. "You make me happy, Tana, and that's something that I haven't really done in a long while."

Santana let him pull her back, relaxing when he kissed her forehead. She kissed him back, waiting until they break for air before she whispered her response, her voice small. "I'm attracted to you too."

Sam put all his emotions and feelings into the kiss, his breathing labored once they pulled back. "I believe you." He kissed her once more, before pulling her into his arms again.

Santana buried her face against his chest, soothed by the feeling of his heartbeat. She laughed when she pulled back, shaking her head. "I'm still half naked." She reached down for her shorts and pulled them back on, then took Sam's hand. "This is gonna sound ridiculous. But come cuddle with me?"

Sam kissed Santana's forehead soothingly and let out a laugh. "I don't mind seeing you naked at all. Where? Here or your bed?"

"In bed."

That way, she could lay her whole body over him and really be held without awkwardly curling or stretching legs like they would on the couch. She took his hand, a little red-faced that she was asking this, but not about to take back the request.

Sam took the hand that she was offering and together, they walked to her bedroom. He laid down, pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. "This is perfect."

He kissed her forehead. Cuddling up to him, her head under his chin, lying against his chest, Santana smiled. "It's pretty damn nice." One hand stroked over his bicep, lightly scratching the skin.

Sam swore he could do this all his life. Santana was perfect for him. It unnerved him to realize him, but it wasn't enough to make him want to run either.

" So, what are we right now? Are you my girlfriend or…?"

Santana paused, trying to figure this out for herself. She wanted this, she was pretty sure, but the meaning seemed pretty intense. Slowly she said, "Can we say a tentative yes? But maybe not tell the kids right away?"

Sam waited with bated breath and let out a sigh of relief once he got his answer. "That is good. I think Stevie needs to be eased into this. Although, I suspect that Toni is going to love the news."

"Oh, Toni's insane excitement is a huge reason I want to keep it sort of quiet for a while." Santana chuckled, lightly nudging her nose against his chin. "Next thing I know she'll be asking for a brother or sister."

"She wants a dad… I can't believe that she would ask Stevie to share me with her though," Sam chuckled, holding Santana just a little tighter. "Would you ever consider having more children?"

"I know she does. And I hate for her she doesn't have one, she doesn't even have an abuelo, really. But she's so damn forward about it." Santana shook her head, smiling anyway, and then sighed. "Yeah. Not any time soon. But yes."

"She'll get a daddy soon and hopefully siblings too. I'd like to have kids someday. Maybe 2, 3. Hell, maybe even 4 if I make it into the MLB."

Santana was quiet, letting what Sam said sink in. She lifted her head a little, regarding him. "Is that a proposal there?"

Sam quirked a brow. "Do you want it to be?"

She stayed quiet, her brow furrowed. "Four kids is insane, you know. On top of the two handfuls we already have."

Sam smiled, glad that she wasn't rejecting him outright. "Okay, we'll compromise. What about 2? Is that fair for you? That will give us a total of 4."

"Sam. Sam. We JUST had sex and you're already planning the number of children we're having? Seriously?!" Santana was just barely keeping her voice calm, and she was tensing up against him. "I still look at Toni as my baby and you're planning on me having another handful straight out the gate?"

Sam sat up a little and frowned when Tana raised her voice. "Whoa, calm down a bit. I wasn't saying that we're going to have children right away. It was a rhetorical question. You didn't have to answer the question."

"Sam…you more or less just asked me if I want you to propose to me. Look, I'm really enjoying this but…I mean, can't we just like, actually take some time to enjoy it? I'm not ready to get married. I'm not ready to have another kid. Can we like, know each other's middle names before you put a ring on my finger here? You don't even have a ring!"

Sam was actually amused now. He tried not to, but he busted out laughing before he could stop himself. "Do you hear yourself? Oh my God, you're acting as if I'm forcing you to marry me or something. Relax. I was joking around. We are still getting to know each other. I'm not crazy. I wasn't really proposing."

Santana was startled by his laughter and sat up and slightly apart from him, staring at him. She started to feel hurt at first, thinking Sam was mocking her or laughing at her, but then she relaxed a little, giving a hesitant smile back. "Oh. Right."

Sam pulled Santana back upon him and kissed her forehead. "You need to relax a little. It's not really a big deal. We were just talking. Sorry if I confused you or made you feel uncomfortable."

Santana relaxed back against him slowly, resting her head against his shoulder. She was quiet for a few more moments before saying slowly, "I don't really know how to do this. The girlfriend thing."

"I'll tell you a secret… I don't know how to be a boyfriend too. I haven't been serious with any girl. This is new to me too. You're not alone, Tana." He kissed her forehead once more.

Santana scoffed, teasing, but also checking to see if there was truth to her words. "Right, you haven't been serious because you were probably too busy dating every girl you came across, right?"

"Nope, I've been busy raising my kid brother," Sam answered honestly. He wasn't ashamed of the fact. It was the absolute truth.

Oh…right. A little shamed, Santana took Sam's hand in hers, tracing his knuckles. "You did have sex before thought right?"

"Yeah, I did." Sam chuckled. "I was having sex when I was 16. Don't worry, I know how to take care of your needs."

Santana smirked, looking at him through her lashes deliberately. "Oh, I figured that one out…but maybe you need to remind me, soon."

Sam smirked, leaning in. "Soon? Like how soon?"

"Now?" Leaning forward, she took his lips against hers. All too willingly, Sam followed her body back down to the couch.


	10. Chapter 10

****A few days after their weekend together, Santana and Sam had gone out to dinner together with the children. Santana had tried to just not mention, one way or the other, to her daughter her new relationship with Sam. She knew Antonia would be way overly excited about it and no doubt start trouble with Stevie again, not to mention embarrass Santana in front of Sam.

So far the night had gone fairly well. Although Santana had made Antonia sit next to Stevie, across from her and Sam in the restaurant, so far their squabbling had been limited to one kicking incident under the table and fighting over who used ketchup and which color crayon first to color their placemats. All in all it's been a nice night, and Santana was relaxed.

Until she saw a vaguely familiar face out the corner of her eye. She tensed, thinking at first it was a figment of her imagination or anxiety, but then she saw that he was approaching, his lips curved into a smirk. Shit…Kyle Owens. One of the guys she had slept with several times in high school, the one she knew to be Antonia's father. He had taken no responsibility for her and swore he wouldn't, calling her a slut and a liar even before she was born, and Santana had sworn all her life that Antonia would never know that her father had rejected her. She would rather her daughter think she was a slut than that her father hadn't wanted her.

Surely he was just going to walk past. But it looked like he was coming straight to them.

Sam was enjoying himself at this dinner. Stevie and Toni were behaving themselves…mostly and he got to spend time with Santana. He loved how natural things were flowing between them. He didn't have to hide or not be who he really was with Tana. She accepted him, baggage and all. A part of the reason why he never dated was because he was afraid that women might not accept Stevie.

Being a single parent was one thing, but being a brother who was willingly taking care of his little brother after their parents death could be a whole other headache. One that he wasn't ready to talk about or have to deal with. He felt blessed that Tana understood his situation, and because of this, he wanted to really explore their relationship.

"So what are you planning on having tonight?" Sam asked, looking up from the menu. He frowned when Santana didn't answer him right away. He noticed that she looked distant and worried, so he raised his voice a little to get her attention. "Tana, you okay?"

"Mami, can I get spaghetti? And can I put crumbly cheese on it?" Antonia was asking. This was her word for parmesan cheese. When her mother didn't answer, she frowned, reaching over the table and almost knocking over her drink to get her attention. "Mamiiiii you are not listening to me!"

"Yeah, Lopez, you're not listening to her," an amused voice said from the side of them as Kyle came up on them, stepping close enough to Santana's side of the table that she tensed further, feeling he was too close. "So I guess nothing's changed?"

Santana's teeth gritted, and she flushed, becoming very aware that Sam, his brother and also her own daughter was watching. She attempted to sound calm for Antonia's sake as she responded.

"Guess not if you not being wanted in my presence is any indication."

"Oh, I remember a time I was very wanted, Lopez…very wanted indeed."

Antonia looked up at him curiously, then over at her mother. "Who's the man, Mami?"

"Yeah, Lopez," Kyle raised an eyebrow, looking at Santana with cocky amusement. "Who's the man?" And what the hell was she supposed to say?

Sam was very confused by what was happening next. An unknown man approached and he seemed to be taunting Santana. Sam didn't like this one bit, so he asked, "And who might you be?" He frowned, waiting for an answer.

The tension could be cut with a knife, and since the man hadn't answered him right away, he looked at Santana for the answer. "Tana, is this your friend?"

Kyle ignored Sam, not even cutting his eyes towards him. His gaze was fixated on Santana as he let his lips curve up into a sneer. "Looks like you've been pretty damn busy…I ain't a blonde, so you can't pin the other one on me. That one though…pretty little girl, huh? Guess she would be, considering."

He nodded to Antonia as Santana's blood boiled. She clinched her fists under the table, gritting her teeth to keep from screaming out exactly what she wanted to say. Her daughter was still regarding him curiously, tilting her head as she looked from him to her mother.

"Thank you, Mr….you shouldn't say the d word though."

"No shit, like your mama don't peel paint off the walls with her tongue…in more ways than one," Kyle laughed, flicking his attention back to the little girl.

At this, Santana couldn't contain herself. Still not answering Sam's question, she ground out, "You weren't invited over here and you're not invited into any breathing space I happen to be occupying and especially that my daughter is."

"Oh, that's rich…you really think you're all high and mighty and shit now, Lopez? Have a few kids and you think you're something special-"

"You said another bad word!" Antonia interrupted, scandalized but giggling a little as well. Then she frowned. "Stevie isn't my mami's kid. That's gross."

Sam didn't like the turn of events. Santana wasn't answering his question and the man was pissing him off with the way he was taunting Santana. "Look, I don't care who you are, I need you to leave right now. There are children present and you're upsetting them." He bit back.

"Sammy, who's that guy?" Stevie asked, above a whisper.

"I don't know, buddy, don't worry about him, alright? He'll leave…" He smiled at Stevie and turned back to the other man. "So are you going to leave or did you want me to make you leave?"

"I'm not upset, Sammy," Antonia piped up, wiggling in her seat as she looked between him and Kyle with bright eyed interest. "I just think the man is being kind of silly is all."

"Oooh, how terrifying, a little blonde dude with silly putty lips is gonna make me leave," Kyle rolled his eyes, but he was addressing this again to Santana, completely ignoring Sam. "You just keep sliding down the ladder with your guy of the week, don't you?"

"You heard him," Santana said tightly, her nails digging into her palms. "Go away. I'm not going to ask you again."

"Funny how you think you can do that when it's a public place and I have a perfect right to be there, for more than one reason," Kyle's eyes were on Antonia as he spoke. "She definitely doesn't have your chin…"

Antonia frowned, not understanding. "Duh, I got my own chin, silly."

Santana could barely breathe. There was no way, no fucking way that Kyle was going to call her out right there in front of her little girl. No way. Before she could stop herself she stood, reaching over Stevie in the opposite booth and hoisting Antonia out of her seat. Grabbing her onto her hip, she started to walk with her to the bathroom without looking back, even as Antonia protested. "Mami I don't gotta go. How come you're getting me up? I don't gotta go!"

Sam clenched his fists, the urge to get violent with this asshole was strong. He felt a tug on his arm and looked at his brother.

"Sammy, I don't like him. He's being mean." Stevie said.

"Don't worry about him, buddy. I'm about to take care of him."

He was waiting for the right time to strike and when Santana left to go to the bathroom, he stood up and did just that.

"Alright, I was nice before, but it's time for you to go." He folded his arms and raised a brow at the man. "Don't make me physically throw you out, man, because I can, and you're pissing me off to the point, where I don't care if I made a scene."

"So are you going to leave or what?" He asked again.

The manager of the restaurant must have sensed the tension boiling. He came right over and asked, "Is something wrong sir?"

"Yes, this man is disrupting my dinner and now he won't leave."

The manager then looked at the other man, "Sir, I'm sorry, but if you're not eating here, you have to leave."

In the bathroom, Santana was making Antonia sit on the toilet even though she had protested she didn't have to pee, muttering to her that she should go anyway so she won't have to later. It's the only reason she can think of to explain why she dragged her away. She took her time using the restroom herself, thoroughly washing and drying both their hands, and by the time they returned to their seats Kyle was gone- but not without a parting shot to Sam about Santana's legs, insinuating they were always open.

As Santana returned, letting Antonia slide back beside Stevie, she opened the menu, pretending it never happened. The man left soon after, but before he did that, he had said some derogatory things about Santana. This made Sam even more pissed off and a part of him had half a mind to beat him into a pulp. Once he left, Sam was not in a good mood. Santana didn't help matters either. She was avoiding even looking at him.

"Can we eat now?" Stevie asked.

"Yeah, we can. Order whatever you want, buddy." He half smiled at his brother.

"Okay. But what are you going to get, Sammy?"

"I don't think I'll get anything. I'm not hungry all of a sudden." Sam said, looking at Santana who was still looking down at her menu. "But like I said, you order. You're a growing boy and you need to eat."

Even if Santana doesn't want to acknowledge what happened, Antonia hardly got the memo. She reached over the table, almost knocking her water, and tugged her mother's arm. "Mami. Mami. Mami!" Forced to acknowledge her, Santana looked up, trying to keep her voice patient.

"Yes?"

"Mami, who was that man?" Antonia persisted. "He was talking about my chin."

Santana changed the subject, still not meeting anyone's eyes. "Toni, tonight we might end up staying with Sam. Maybe."

"Why are you not eating? You should eat, Sammy. You can't be big and strong if you don't eat." Stevie chided.

Sam was only half listening to Stevie as he focused on Santana who didn't even want to acknowledge him. "I'm already big and strong."

"But, Sammy, you gotta eat with me." Stevie tugged on his arm, the action annoying him even more.

Sam snapped at his little brother then. "Will you stop bugging me! I said I'm not hungry!"

Stevie's bottom lip trembled, he folded his arm and snarled back, "Fine, don't eat! I hate you!"

Antonia was watching Sam with big eyes, and she said solemnly, "I didn't know you could yell." Turning to Stevie, she said, "He's gonna get you in big trouble for saying that. I get in trouble when I say that."

Hearing the irritation in Sam's voice, Santana looked over at him and said in a low tone, "Sam, just get something to eat. That's what we're here for." She turned to Stevie and told him,"You don't mean that, Stevie."

Stevie glared at Toni, wanting to kick her for her comment, but he wasn't in the mood talk to her.

Sam sighed, feeling bad that he had lost it with Stevie. "I'm sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'll eat."

Stevie was still mad at this point. "I don't care."

"Of course you do, you want me to be big and strong, remember."

Stevie shrugged.

"I'm big and strong too," Antonia announced, giving Stevie a nudge with her elbow. "I'm gonna eat. I'll be bigger and stronger than you!"

"Toni," Santana said to her, scolding in tone, trying to focus on this. But all she can think about is Kyle. What had he said to Sam when she left? What if Toni figured out what was going on?

"Stop hitting me!" Stevie glared at Toni, "And you will never be bigger than me. I'm a boy. Boys are bigger than girls." His annoyance now transferred to Toni.

Sam on the other hand was too busy avoiding Santana. He found it offensive that she was still avoiding his questions. Well, two can play that game.

"Alright you two, enough fighting. Let's order and eat, so that we can get home." He told the children. When the waitress came over, he ordered both his and Stevie's food.

"I didn't hit you! I only touched you a little." Antonia touched him again to prove her point. "And I'm gonna be bigger. Am too gonna. You watch!"

"Antonia, behave or I'll ask the waitress for a high chair for you to sit in," Santana warned. Antonia settled down, her eyes big, and Santana stole a glance at Sam. He definitely looked pissed. Tentatively she lay a hand on his leg under the table, testing.

"Whatever. Don't touch me." Stevie rolled his eyes.

"Stevie calm down, she was only touching you." Sam tried to say in order to calm his brother down.

"But I don't like her touching me…"

"You'll be okay." Sam ruffled his brother's hair and shifted a little when he felt Santana touching his leg. He didn't want to be touched, not when she was keeping secrets from him.

"I just touched him. Touching doesn't hurt him," Antonia heaved a sigh. She started to draw with her crayons, ignoring Stevie now, as Santana looked over at Sam, noticing how his muscle tensed beneath her hand. She didn't move her leg, willing him to do something explicit to show he's pissed, if he's going to. She's going to make him acknowledge.

There was silence on their table. One that he didn't bother to try to break. While the kids were busy annoying each other. Sam was busy ignoring Santana. He didn't say a word as he looked out the window, keeping his silence.

Deeply bothered, Santana kept her eyes on Sam, keeping her voice low as she spoke to him. "Sam. Come on, don't do this."

"I'm not doing anything." Sam stated, under his breath. He didn't want to have an all out argument in front of the kids, not when things with Stevie was already so tense. "We'll talk later."

"You're mad," she stated, still keeping her voice low. "Let's get out of here and put the kids to bed soon as they eat. Toni can sleep with Stevie tonight."

"I'm not." Sam answered curtly. When he heard her suggestion, he nodded his head. "Okay. Let's just eat first." He sighed, then picked up a fry and put it in his mouth.

Santana went quiet again as their food arrived, and she didn't eat very much of hers at all. Picking apart her own fries, she half watched her daughter smearing spaghetti sauce all over her face and half heartedly cleaned her off when she was finished. She gathered her up still in relative quiet as they left the restaurant and got into Sam's car, frequently glancing over at him. Whatever he said, he was definitely mad.

Dinner was tense to say the least. He didn't speak and neither did Santana. When they got to his place, the kids were already asleep, so they put them in Stevie's bed and quietly exited the bedroom. When they were in the living room, he didn't wait before he was asking questions. "I need some answers. Who is that man back there and why was he acting like such a douche bag to you?"

Santana had carried Antonia into Sam's house and gently laid her down in Stevie's bed, noticing with amusement how she automatically snuggled close to Stevie, her mouth open, one arm flung over his stomach. She was going to be horrified when she woke up. Santana smiled in spite of herself as she backed out of the room, but her smile dropped when Sam started to question her. Stiffening, she lifted her chin,crossing her arms defensively over her chest. "Just some asshole. How should I know?"

Sam gritted his teeth, his anger rising again. "You're still playing the I don't know him card? Really, Tana? If you're not telling me then fine, there's nothing I can do to make you want to talk anyway. But remember, if I happen to keep a secret from you, remember that you started this. You wanted to keep secrets from me." He folded his arms and stared daggers at her.

"What is this, fifth grade? You're keeping secrets so now I'm keeping secrets, you call me a name so I call you a name, rubber and glue and bounciness? Come on, Sam, grow up," Santana blurted before she can rethink her own words. "It's not any of your business. He's not important."

"Grow up? Are you serious? You're the one keeping secrets, Santana. Not me. I have been completely honest with you since day one. How do you think you are making me feel right now?" Sam hissed. Clearly she was not going to tell him and when she told him that it was not his business, he felt like she had just kicked him in the heart. "I thought you that you were different. I thought we were building something here. I must be dreaming because, right now, I feel like I'm the only one who's being completely honest here."

"Oh, like I know everything there is to know about you? How many girls have you slept with, Sam? What are their names? How many times a day do you jerk off? What's the worst thing that's ever happened to you, in detail? There's such a thing as shit that people don't want to talk about and it's other people's jobs to leave them alone about it!" Santana's nails were digging into her own arms, her own voice growing heated.

"You never ask!" Sam growled out. "If you must know, I've only had sex with 2 girls. Erica and Candice. I jerk off when I have the time and if I'm in the mood for it." He spouted the answer back to back and felt tears rushing into his eyes as he thought about the worst day of his life. "The day I got the call that my parents died was the worst day of my life. Anymore questions you want to ask? Because I can answer them all. And you know what, you're right, you don't have to talk to me about anything anymore. We're done, Santana. If you can't be honest with me like I'm being honest with you then I can't be with you."

Santana forgot everything that came before Sam's final two sentences. Her face drained of color, and her eyes grew huge as she stared at him, barely unable to believe what she was hearing. For a few moments she just looked at him, still hoping he was going to change his mind, or that this was just a threat. He couldn't break up with her. Not like this, not after Kyle. Kyle couldn't do this to her. Her lips started to shake, and she felt tears come to her eyes. One overflowed before she could stop it, and she turned away hurriedly, not wanting Sam to see. Without another word, she fled down the hallway, going into his bathroom and slamming the door behind her before she started to cry.

Sam regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. He couldn't bare the look on Santana's face. She looked like she was going to cry. But on the flip side, she was hurting him too. She couldn't be honest with him and he couldn't deal with that. It wasn't fair that she was treating him like this, so he let his anger fester and didn't follow after her when she ran off. He had to cool down and think things through. This was too much and too hard for him to deal with right now.

Santana's shoulders shook as she buried her face in one of Sam's towels, trying to stifle any noise she might make from her tears. But the more she tried to choke them back the more difficult it was to keep from emerging. This was so unfair…first for Kyle to come and dredge up memories better left forgotten, forcing her to feel the humiliation and pain she had when he rejected her and Antonia, years ago. Making her feel like a cheap slut, like a nothing. Having the nerve to talk to her daughter, to now passively aggressively acknowledge her as his, years after he had called her a liar and a whore.

She didn't want to talk about it with Sam, how it had been, how much it hurt, and how terrified she was that he would tell Toni and hurt her too. And now Sam was angry and hurt, enough so that she had lost him. How could she lose him, when she had already started to feel so much for him?

There were so many emotions going through him right now. He was sad and angry and frustrated. He hated feeling like this and worse of all, he was making Santana sad and that was something he didn't want to do. Although his ego was bruised, he got up and went to check on her anyway. He didn't know where she went, but didn't have to look for long. All he had to do was follow the sounds of her sobs. She was in his attached bathroom. He hesitated for a moment, before knocking on the door and trying the knob. It gave, and he entered the room, seeing immediately that Santana was crying. "Hey…" He sighed, not really knowing what else to say to her.

Santana's shoulders jerked again in surprise at Sam's voice, and she buried her face more deeply in the towel, feeling her skin heat. She tried to stop crying, but it flat out wasn't going to happen. Her voice choked, she said into the towel, still not looking up, "I'll leave in a minute. I can't go until I can get Antonia, okay…" 

Sam sighed again, his anger completely depleted now. All he felt was sadness. He didn't want her to be out of his life. He wanted her and was starting to really fall for her. It was fast and unexpected, but this feeling he felt was much too strong for him to just walk away. He couldn't really hear what she was saying; it all sounded like jibberish to him, so he lifted her face, cupping her cheeks in his palms. "I don't want you to go. I just want you to open up to me. Can you do that?" He asked, then ever so softly, he kissed her lips before pulling back to wipe her tears away.

Santana expected Sam to back out of the bathroom and leave her to finish trying to calm down so she could leave that much faster. She wouldn't have been surprised if he said something sarcastic and mean as he left. But instead, he was kneeling in front of her, lifting up her face and touching her so gently her breath caught. He was kissing her, even wiping her cheeks, and this was after she had been so snappy to him, after she had said things to hurt him.

Stunned by his changed demeanor, her heart wrenched, and Santana's tears came faster, in response now to his gentleness. She impulsively put her arms around Sam's neck and hugged him hard, pressing her face into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry…I just…it's hard. It's fucking hard and I never…" 

Sam was shocked by Santana's tears. He didn't want that to see her cry. He wanted her to smile or maybe even slap him for being an idiot. Then, she was in his arms and although she was crying, he felt like everything was right again. "Hey, no crying. I hate it when you cry." He told her as he held her closely, kissing her head and breathing in her scent. "Baby, please stop crying. I'm sorry for being an idiot. I shouldn't have said those things."

Santana tried to stop, sniffling several times and squeezing Sam harder as she took a few breaths. She didn't fail to notice him calling her baby, the first time that he ever has, and it made her want to smile a little bit.

"I didn't mean to be a bitch. Well…I did, but…I'm sorry."

"Hey, don't call yourself a bitch. You are not a bitch." Sam corrected her and kissed her head again. "I'm sorry I was so forceful. I just felt out of loop and I didn't like the way that guy was talking to you."

Santana laughed a little at Sam's correction, closing her eyes and letting her head fall back against his chest. Only Sam could sincerely tell her that she wasn't a bitch and believe it. She was quiet for a few more moments, weighing out her words, before she said softly, "Sam…it's just that I'm not used to talking about anything."

The laughter Sam heard was enough to make him smile. Santana didn't say anything for a few minutes, but that was okay. As long as she wasn't crying, he would take the silence for as long as she needed it. When she spoke, he could hear her discomfort. "I know, but you should know that I'm here and I would never judge you, Tana. Your past is your past, it's the woman right now that I care about and I want to be with."

Santana nodded slightly, releasing another breath. She tightened her grip on Sam even more and debated before saying aloud, "I don't ever want him around Toni again. Ever. It makes me sick, the way he looked at her, the things he said to her, like he has a right." She doesn't explain why, not just yet.  
Sam listened to Santana's concerns and said, "He won't be around Toni, if you don't want him to be. If he's making you uncomfortable, just tell me, I'll handle him." He still didn't know the history between the two, but he didn't push this time, figuring that she was going to open up whenever she was ready to.

"I don't want him around you or Stevie either," Santana told him, loosening her grip on him slightly. "He…Sam, the things he might say about me…I don't want you to hear. Please, don't listen to him, if you ever see him again…or forget what he says."

"He won't be. Especially not Stevie." Sam promised. He could feel Santana relaxing a little, but she still wouldn't fully disclose who this guy was and what their history was together. "I won't. I promise you that I won't."

Santana was quiet for another few minutes, letting herself further relax against him. She debated whether or not to talk to Sam, and finally, she hid her mouth against his chest, as though by muffling the words it will soften the impact. "He's Toni's father."

Sam could have sworn he heard Santana announce that the guy was Toni's dad, but he couldn't be too sure. Her voice sounded muffled, so he gently lifted her chin and asked again. "Did you just say, he's Toni's father?"

Taking a breath, uncomfortable now that she has to look up into Sam's face, Santana nodded slowly. "Yeah. Yeah…he is."

Sam nodded, for a minute, he didn't say anything. Then once he was able to form the words, he said, "I figured that he might be." He pulled her back to him and kissed her forehead, "I'm sorry… I wish things were different and that he wasn't Toni's father."

"I never cared about him," Santana said in a rush, wanting this to be clear. She didn't want Sam to think that she still liked Kyle or was hurt because he had dumped her or anything like that. "I didn't. I just had sex with him because…that was what I did, then. I don't care that he broke up with me, I just care that he…" she swallowed, having difficulty saying this aloud. She's never said the words aloud to anyone before, even her own mother. "He called me a liar and a whore and said that my baby wasn't his. He said even if she was he didn't give a shit because I couldn't prove it. He rejected her before she was even born, he never cared about her or wanted to love her or know her, and now he thinks he can walk up to her and look at her and talk to her like he is her father, he would make her feel like she wasn't wanted and she wasn't special and like he chose not to have her, it's bad enough she doesn't have a father but to know her father just didn't want her…"

Sam didn't really understand why Santana felt the need to tell him that she didn't care about the guy. To him, it was blatantly obvious. If she still had any lingering feelings for him, she sure didn't show it back at the restaurant. "I don't think that you liked him at all. I mean, I've only met him once and I feel like punching him in the throat." He shook the thought away and listened in, trying his best not to get too angry at Kyle's past behavior. "That man's a monster and I understand now why you didn't want to acknowledge him or want Toni to be around him. I'm sorry about tonight. I feel like I ruined it for the both of us." He sighed, feeling terrible for acting the way he did earlier.

"You didn't ruin anything," Santana shook her head, turning her face so her cheek is against his chest. She sighed, shaking her head again. "You didn't. I just…I hate to talk about him. I hate to even think about him. I'm just…Sam, he's seen Toni. He's seen how beautiful and amazing she is and…what if he decides he wants her? What if he wants to take her away from me?"

Her voice cracked a little bit, and she pressed closer to him. "What if he gets mad and makes up lies about me like I'm a bad mom?"

Sam's heart broke for Santana. She was so scared that this man might take Toni away and couldn't say that he blamed her. Some people are mean spirited and would do anything to hurt people. He wouldn't put it past Kyle not to do the same. "Hey, I don't want you to worry about that, okay? He hasn't been present in Toni's life so far, I doubt that he's going to magically want to change now. And if he tries to hurt you that way, I swear that I will do everything in my power to help you. Okay?"

Santana tried to believe this, taking another breath. With Sam's arms around her she could almost trust that to be true. "Okay…okay. It just…I don't have a lot of people in my life. I couldn't lose her."

"You would never lose her. You have been a great parent. You took care of her and you're doing a great job, so even if he tried anything, it would still be hard for him to prove that you're a bad parent." Sam said, trying again to calm Santana down.

"I guess so," Santana mumbled. She sighed again, winding an arm around Sam's waist. "I'm sorry. I really hate talking about this…can we stop?"

Sam nodded at her words. He hated seeing her sad anyway, so a chance of subject was for the best. "Yeah, we can stop. I'm sort of hungry. Did you want to go to the kitchen with me? I can make us both something to eat."

Santana shook her head. Although she had just picked at her food at the restaurant, she isn't at all hungry. Following him into the kitchen regardless, she sat at the table, watching him.


	11. Chapter 11

As their parents had carried out their discussion in another room, Stevie and Antonia had remained in a peaceful slumber, unknowingly curled up beside each other in Stevie's bed. This arrangement lasted until about six am, when Antonia kicked Stevie in her sleep. He woke up with a start and rubbed his eyes. When he saw that Toni was next to him, he jumped out of bed, scowling in near horror.

"Ewww! Why are you here? In my bed? Get out of it before I catch cooties!" he declared, pointing towards the door as though to make it very clear where Antonia should be going.

Sitting up groggily, Antonia rubbed her eyes, scowling and kicking at the covers. "I do not have cooties! You are the cootie boy! You are a boy. I am a girl. Boys shouldn't oughtta sleep with girls. Gross."

"You do too. Cooties girl," Stevie scoffed. "I didn't want to sleep with you! I don't know why you're in MY bed."

"Do not!" Antonia hollered. Jumping out of bed, she ran at Stevie and kicked his leg. "You were touching me! Touching me with your cootie germs! This isn't neither your bed!"

This despite the obvious fact that the bed and all the objects in the room clearly wasn't hers.

"It is too my bed!" Stevie's jaw dropped as Antonia's foot kicked out at him, and he hollered, " You kicked me. I'm telling on you!"

He ran out of bed and out to the kitchen, where Sam was standing at the stove, starting up breakfast. Without even so much as a good morning, Stevie launched into his tale of woe. " Sammy, Toni kicked me and she slept on my bed! Get her out!"

"TATTLETALE!" Antonia hollered out from the bedroom. Delighted to have the bed to herself, she promptly stretched back out with the covers over her head, snuggling back down. "All mine!"

Sam rolled his eyes and sighed, already feeling a headache coming on. "Stevie, why can't the two of you get along? I'm trying to make breakfast here… and Santana is still asleep, please try to be more quiet."

Stevie folded his arms and rolled his eyes. "Because she's sleeping in my bed! And she's acting like a boss. Get her out of my bed, Sammy. Please…"

Just to make sure he gets the message, Antonia shouted again. "MY BED! I AM GONNA SLEEP IN THIS BED THAT IS ALL MINE RIGHT NOW! THAT IS WHAT I AM DOING I AM SLEEPING!"

Sam actually laughed when he heard Toni shouting. Stevie was scowling at him and he pursed his lips to stop from laughing. "Alright, let's get this over with."

He shook his head again and headed to the bedroom with Stevie holding onto his hand. As they came up to Toni's little blanket-covered body, Stevie addressed her with as much authority as his five year old self could muster up.

"You get out of my bed or Sammy will put you on time out."

"Stevie!" Sam chided, shaking his head. "I am not going to put her on time out."

Antonia pulled the covers tighter over her head, shouting back. "He will not! See! I'm sleeping! Sleeping like a good girl! Sleeping is good and you are being bad, Stevie!" Suddenly sitting up, she pushed the covers back from head and looked at Sam overly innocently. "Isn't he being bad to me, Sammy?"

Sam didn't even bother to hide his laughter. That earned him an eye roll from Stevie. "It's not funny," Stevie grumbled. "Make her go away."

Picking Stevie up on his hip with a sigh, Sam addressed Toni. "Toni, why don't you get up. I'm making pancakes for breakfast."

Perking up at the mention of pancakes, Antonia nodded enthusiastically. "Ooooh yummy!"

She threw the blanket back all the way, then, seeing that Sam had picked Stevie up, held her arms out to him, wanting to be carried too. Stevie latched on even tighter to his brother when Toni asked to be picked up, shaking his head.

"Nuh uh. He's my brother. You can ask your mommy to pick you up. Sammy's all mine."

"You can share, Stevie. Just this once." Sam looked down at the little girl and stretched his free arm out. "Up you go, Toni."

Antonia pouted at Stevie's response, sticking her lower lip out and holding her arms out even further to Sam. "Share! Sharing is nice! You gotta be nice 'cause grown ups say that ALL THE TIME!" She beamed when Sam lifted her, wrapping an arm around his neck and resting her head against his shoulder.

"Sammy, she's being mean again…" Stevie grumbled, pouting and shoving a little at Toni. "Stay on your side."

"Am not! I'm being nice and sharing! You're being mean, you're pushing me!"

Sam who now had Toni in his arms couldn't really concentrate on their bickering. He was more worried about not dropping the kids while he juggled to balance them and walk to the living room. Once he was near the sofa, he set them both down, sighing in relief. "Alright, I gotta go finish making breakfast, you two behave, okay?"

When Sam set her down, Toni stood up and attached to his leg, hugging him. "I like you, Sammy. Thank you!" She pulled back, seeming to realize at last she didn't know where Santana was. "Mami! Where is my mami?"

Santana, meanwhile, had heard most of this and stayed put. No way was she giving herself a headache this early in the morning, so she pretended to sleep.

Sam was trying to get away, to go back to the kitchen and to be completely honest, away from the bickering kids, but Toni wasn't going to let that happen. "I like you too, Toni," he laughed. "Your mommy's still asleep. Why don't you sit here and I'll go get her for you."

He deposited her back on the sofa, where Antonia gave a little bounce.

"Okay…Mami! Mami I'm in here!"

Still shaking his head, Sam made his way into his room and sat on the edge of his bed, leaning over to gently shake Santana's shoulder. "Babe, you gotta get up, the kids are killing me."

Santana curled into a ball, groaning aloud and pulling the blanket over her head rather as her daughter had done. "Aw, let's do shifts…you get morning, I get oh, I'll start at noon. Sound good?"

Sam, hearing Santana's pleading was not at all moved by it. Instead, he pulled her up, so that she was curled up in his arms and gently pinched her cheeks. "No, we don't have a deal. Toni is asking for you and Stevie is going to kill her if you don't play referee. Babe, please get up, I can't handle this alone."

Santana groaned again, turning her face away, and then snuggled close, burying her face in his neck. "You know we will never sleep again, right?"

Back in the living room, Toni, still bouncing on the couch, got up and started to run down the hall, still calling for her mother. "Mamiiiiiiii I can't hear you!"

Sam chuckled lightly and stroke Santana's hair. "I know, and I'm used to it." Hearing Toni's shouts made him laugh. He smacked Santana on the butt to wake her a little. "You hear that? You better get up, she's looking for you."

Santana smacked back at Sam's hand but laughed, pulling away slightly and yawning. She could hear Toni calling her again, an edge of panic in her voice, and called back to her. "I'm here, baby, I'm coming." Looking at Sam, she explained. "She gets scared sometimes when she doesn't know where I am."

As though to prove it, Antonia burst through the door without knocking, her eyes huge. Her little face registered relief when she saw Santana, and she threw herself bodily onto her, snuggling against her chest. "Mami you were hiding from me."

Santana stroked her hair back, rubbing her back as she sat up a little more. "No, I was here, baby."

Pulling back, Antonia looked around as though she were seeing the room for the first time. "How come Sammy gets to sleep with you and I don't? Isn't he big enough to sleep alone?"

Relieved that Santana was getting up, Sam sat back and blew out a breath. "Oh, now I understand. Stevie was like that a few years back." He smiled, his heart melting at the sight of the mother and daughter's affection for each other.

He wanted this, he suddenly realized. All of it. The two beautiful girls and his brother, and possibly more kids in the future. He wanted it all because in that moment, he realized that he loved her. He loved Santana. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. It made his heart jump, and a smile that he was sure couldn't be erased spread across his face. Sam blinked at Toni's question, laughing as it dawned on him in a delay.

Seeing Sam smile, Santana looked up questioningly, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

Ignoring her, Sam addressed Toni. "Your mommy was borrowing my bed to sleep in because there was not enough beds. And big girls sleep alone. Aren't you a big girl?"

Stevie entered the room, looking annoyed] I'm hungry. Can we eat now?

Distracted then, Santana eased Toni off her and stood, stretching, then reached for her hand, which Toni took. Smiling at Stevie, she nodded. "Food is definitely a must about now."

Holding Santana's hand, Toni considered Sam's reply, then nodded decisively. "Uh huh. I'm a big girl…but do big girls still get to play? And get picked up sometimes?"

"Definitely," Santana answered this immediately, thinking of herself, being held by Sam just a few minutes. When Toni reached out a hand for Sam to take too, she smiled, her heart full. It was amazing to her how quickly her daughter too has accepted him.

Stevie rolled his eyes, then stuck his tongue out at Toni. "Big girls don't get carried, that's for little girls."

"Okay, before a war starts, we better get you two fed." Sam kissed Tana's forehead and took Toni's hand. "Big girls have to play and they definitely get carried, but only sometimes… Isn't that right, Santana?"

Scowling at Stevie, Toni held tighter to the adults' hands. "They do too! They get carried! Sammy said so!"

Santana rolled her eyes, keeping out of this, and just swung Toni's hand playfully. As they entered the kitchen she started to help Sam prepare the breakfast, still sneaking looks at him, and said in an undertone when the kids were seated, "What was that look?"

"What look? I wasn't giving you a look." He shrugged and started in on the pancakes.

Santana smirked at Sam, giving him a little hip check. "Right. You looked like you were about to start drooling."

Sam smiled, but he wasn't giving in. "Of course I am. Have you seen yourself lately? You're drool worthy."

"I am, but that was a long drool session." Santana laughed, then after a fast glance at the kids, walked her fingertips up his neck.

Sam closed his eyes, feeling her fingertips tickling his eyes. "Baby, if you don't stop that, I'm going to burn the pancake.

Only because Sammy wasn't really listening to him, Stevie leaned forward towards Toni, teasing her some more. "Sammy's wrong. You're a little girl and little girls get carried."

"You are being mean to me! I am not a little girl! I am a big girl! And you are a little boy then because Sammy carried YOU!" Antonia shot this back at Stevie, sticking her tongue out at him as she sat across from him at the table.

"Whatever. I'm not a little boy. I'm a big boy. You're the little girl."

"Little boy little boy little boy! Big girl big girl big girl!" Antonia stuck her tongue out again, waggling it around.

"You're the little girl. You still suck your thumb!" Stevie fired back, laughing at her.

Because this was absolutely true, and also something she was sensitive about, Antonia exploded. She started to kick her legs against the back of her chair, rocking back and forth in it hard as she hollered at him. "I AM NOT A LITTLE GIRL!"

When she fell backward in her chair because of the rocking and kicking, Antonia momentarily stopped, wide eyed with her surprise. Then, more out of anger and embarrassment than actual hurt, she burst into tears, starting to flail her arms and legs in a full on tantrum.

Santana had been walking her fingers through Sam's hair, lightly scraping his scalp as she leaned close to him, when Antonia's shriek pierced her eardrums. Pulling away reluctantly to see her daughter thrashing on the floor, she sighed, moving closer to her.

"Okay. You need to take four breaths, take a drink of milk, and then have some quiet time. Come on, Toni."

"I didn't do it! She fell on her own!" Stevie shouted, pointing at Toni's flailing form.

Sam groaned inwardly and raised a brow at Stevie. "Oh really? You didn't provoke her?"

"What's provoke mean?" Stevie asked, looking down at his feet and pretending to not understand his brother's question.

"You know what it means." Sam folded his arms. "Now spill."

"I didn't do anything. I promise! It was all her fault. She taunted me, so I said that she sucked her thumb. Then she started kicking and then she fell. So it's not my fault!" Stevie spouted out in one breath.

Toni ignored Santana for the first few seconds, continuing to scream, but as Santana kept talking to her in a normal tone of voice, ignoring Stevie, and telling her to calm down and sit up, she gradually did, sniffling.

"I fell….I fell and I hurted my leg!" She stretched out her leg to Santana, which only had a very small red spot on the shin. Santana rubbed it for her for a few seconds.

"There, all better. You wouldn't be falling and hurting your leg if you hadn't been kicking, and you wouldn't be kicking if you hadn't been fussing with Stevie, would you? Pick your chair up and come sit in your seat. You can't have breakfast on the floor."

Antonia picked the chair up, still sniffling, but she didn't get in her seat. Instead she went to Santana where her mother was kneeling in front of her and hid her face in her lap. Santana patted her briefly but spoke firmly. "Take a breath, get in your chair, and drink some milk, Toni. You're okay."

And after a few more moments she did, refusing to look at Stevie. Santana stood, sighing as she mumbled to Sam. "Hurry on the pancakes, babe."

"What did I tell you about leaving each other alone? You should have listened. Do you want to get grounded?" Sam was speaking to Stevie.

Stevie shook his head violently. "No. I don't want to. I'll behave."

"If you don't want to get grounded, go sit down and behave yourself." Sam looked back at Santana, acknowledging her. "Getting to it, babe."

Antonia sat quietly, sulking, and several times brought her thumb up to her mouth, then with a glance at Stevie, dragged it back down. Looking back at her and Stevie and how downcast they both looked, Santana shook her head, returning to stand next to Sam as they frequently glanced back to check on them.

"I swear I want to cuddle the shit out of them both when they look like that. Sometimes the discipline thing is hard."

And Sam had to agree.


	12. Chapter 12

The talk that Sam had with Stevie in regards to the girls moving in had oddly gone successfully well. The youngest Evans hadn't said much, but Sam did get duped into buying his little brother a video game for Stevie's Play Station. He couldn't say no when Stevie was being so good. It was a small price to pay and he happily obliged.

The move was relatively smooth…so far. Santana didn't have too many things that she was bringing over–much to his surprise, and Stevie hadn't tried to kill Toni. Of course he thought that too soon. The moment they got back to the house and he heard Toni's happy announcement, he knew that things were not going to end well.

"He's not your daddy! He's my brother and he has to be married to your mommy first!" Stevie shouted back, folding his arms and frowning at Toni.

"Stevie, be nice," Sam said, ruffling his brother's hair.

"Well, you're not…" Stevie bit back, standing his ground.

Sam, not wanting to get into an argument, simply shook his head and said, "Why don't you go to your room while I help Santana and Toni move their stuff?"

He was going to tell his brother to show Toni to her room, but thought better of that. He didn't want World War III to break out, so it was best that he kept the two far apart.

"Okay." Stevie shrugged and ran off towards the house.

"Alright, let's get started on these boxes." He approached the girls, giving Tana a sweet kiss before heading to the back of the rental truck to get started.

"Is too! Does not!" Antonia yelled back, hands on her hips. "He gets to be my daddy now! Don't you?"

She turned to Sam, appealing to him, but was distracted when Sam told her he would help her and Santana. She ran ahead of them to the truck, doing a clumsy effort of a cartwheel and landing in a heap on the grass. Giggling, she got up again and tried again as Santana kissed Sam back, smiling.

"I swear I don't give her energy drinks for breakfast."

Sam laughed at Santana's answer and turned to look at Toni who was still cartwheeling her way around the front yard. "You sure about that? She seems really hyper right now…"

"She's excited," Santana sighed, taking her time about walking to the boxes. "It makes me feel bad, I didn't know just how much she hated the other place. " She smirked then, poking Sam's side. "She is REALLY excited about you being her Daddy Sam. And no, I absolutely in no way said to her that this was the case."

"I can see that, just like I'm excited to have you both around." Oddly, hearing that Toni wanted him to be her daddy, didn't really scare Sam at all. It was comforting to know that Toni liked him enough to want him to be her daddy. "I know you didn't and I'm okay with her wanting me to be her daddy." He smiled, kissing Tana on the cheek, "Maybe someday, I'll be lucky enough to marry her mommy." He said those words without any hesitation before picking up one of the boxes and walking towards the house.

"I'm excited too," Santana admitted.

She went quiet as Sam mentioned being Toni's father, marrying her. For a moment she imagined this, and it wasn't too scary of a thought. Which is sort of scary right there. She followed Sam, starting to carry boxes, and eventually a breathless Antonia started to help. She carried in the boxes that Santana handed her that were lightest, keeping up a running chatter.

"What color is my room Daddy Sammy? Is it pretty? Can I put my toys in it? I don't gotta share with Stevie do I?"

Sam chuckled at Toni, placed the box down and carried the little girl. "The color of your room is white, but we can paint it if you want. I think it's pretty and of course you get to put your toys in it. Let's go take a look at it and you can be the judge, okay?" He started walking towards the room next to Stevie's. "No, you don't have to share with Stevie, but your room are next to each other's so you will have to play nice. Do you think you could do that?"

"Ooooooh I wanna paint it PURPLE!" Antonia gave a little hop, dropping her box in the process. Luckily it was just clothes so nothing was broken. "Purple with GLITTER!"

As Sam picked her up, she wound her arm easily around his neck, giving a nod. "Uh huh I'm super nice. Really nice."

"Mija, I don't know if purple glitter paint exists," Santana laughed, shaking her head as she followed the two towards Antonia's room. She snorted at Antonia's promise to be nice to Stevie but didn't comment, praying she meant it past the next five seconds.

Once they entered Antonia's room, the little girl's eyes grew huge, and she wiggled excitedly in Sam's arms.

"It's BIG! Mami, look, it's BIG!"

She was utterly astonished by this, never having had a house where she had so much space. Then another thought seemed to hit her as she bit her lip, turning to regard the adults.

"What if bigger monsters like the bigger room better?"

"Purple is doable." Sam nodded, laughing at the idea of having a purple, glitter filled room. Thankfully, they don't make glitter paint or he would be covered with glitter at the end of that project. "This is your room." He opened the door, smiling at her excited response. His gaze shifted towards Santana. "Looks like she really loves the room."

Toni's question quickly caught his attention, he shook his head and said, "Nah, they like tiny rooms. Besides, I already did an inspection before you came, there's no monsters in this room."

Santana smiled, loving seeing her daughter's excitement, but loving even more how sweet she looked with her arm still wound around Sam's neck, her head leaned against his. She looked so comfortable and trusting with him, and it almost made her catch her breath to see it.

Antonia considered what Sam said carefully, then wiggled for him to put down. Grabbing his hand, she dragged him with her, hesitating, then with a burst or bravado looked under the bed, still holding his hand. "Okay, good," she said with relief. "I don't see none."

At Toni's urging, he put her down and did a walk through around the room with her. He could tell that she was scared, even if she didn't voice it out and hoped that the walk through would help to ease her worries. It seemed to have work. "See, I told you there's no monsters here." He told her, smiling sweetly. "Now are you ready to put your things in your brand new room? I'll even help you."

Still holding his hand, Antonia nodded, with just one more question. "They aren't visible?" She means "invisible." Santana couldn't hold back her smile as she reached for Sam's hand and squeezed it, subtly tracing a heart on the back.

Sam didn't quite understand what Toni was talking about. After thinking it through, he finally got it. "No, they're not invisible." He chuckled, looking back at Santana and mouthing the words, "I love you." Then, he led Toni back out to grab some of her stuff before they went back into her room. "Let's start unpacking these boxes, shall we?"

Santana's grin grew wider, and she watched as Toni stayed right at Sam's heels, chattering a mile a minute as she skipped along after him. She wasn't doing so much helping as talking at Sam while he helped, but Santana left her alone for the moment. Going to find Stevie, she went up to him and gave him a gentle smile, knowing that having been left alone, the little boy was probably feeling left out.

"Hey there. I'm really, really glad we get to stay here. It's so nice of you and your brother to let us, and Toni and I really appreciate it. I'm happy I'll get to know you better now." She moved forward and pulled him into her arms in a hug.

Stevie was playing Angry Birds on his Ipad when Santana walked in. He sat up a little and was surprisingly shocked when she hugged him. "I guess…" He simply stated, pretending as if the hug didn't melt his heartstrings.

Sam got busy with unpacking, and listened to Toni's plans for the room. Her chatter made him smile. It had always been just him and Stevie and they were both not very talkative by nature, so it was nice to have Santana and Toni around. They were going to be a great addition to the household, he just knew that they would.

In Stevie's room, Santana smiled at him, sitting next to him and keeping an arm loosely around him. "I don't know how to play too many video games, Toni isn't interested. Maybe you can teach me how?"

Stevie on the other hand, was enjoying all the female attention he was getting. He liked that Santana was affectionate, and she seemed like she was interested in getting to know him too. "It's easy. I can teach you later. Sammy just bought me a new video game you wanna try it with me?" He looked at Santana, eyes wide, hoping that she would say yes.

Santana smiled at Stevie's hopeful look, nodding and giving him another little squeeze around his shoulders before she dropped her arm. "Sure. I bet I'll totally kick your butt, since you don't know how to play it yet either. Let's see."

Stevie gasped and raised is brows. "You are so not going to win. I'm really good at video games and it only takes me 5 minutes to learn the controls. I'm going to make you eat my dust!" He chuckled. Stevie never used those words before, but he has heard it from TV and thought it was funny

"Eat your dust, huh? That sounds pretty nasty. Almost as bad as shorts," Santana chuckled. She settled next to Stevie and started to play, catching on pretty quickly and getting intently into the game in no time. "Oh you are so going down!"

"Yeah, I've heard it on TV, and I thought it was funny. Don't tell Sammy though. He might get mad." Stevie got up and set up the video game, before long they were into the game and forgetting about the world. He was really impressed by Santana's skills. She did really well, any better, she would be kicking his butt. "Oh no I'm not. You're going down!"

Santana laughed, her thumbs working madly as she kept her attention glued to the screen, trying her best to take Sam down. She bumped the little boy's shoulder with hers playfully.

Stevie's brows were knitted tightly as he concentrated on the video game. He wanted to win so bad. No way, he was going to let a girl beat him. That was not going to happen. When he felt her bumping his shoulder, she bumped hers back. "Hey, no cheating… That's okay, cheaters always lose. That's what Sammy says, so you're going down!" He giggled.

Santana grinned, knowing she wasn't about to win, and not above cheating. She bumped Stevie again, then slyly dropped one hand off her controller to reach out and start tickling him. "Oh, are you good enough to win now? Are you?"

Stevie giggled and tried to wiggle away from Santana. "Hey! No tickling! That's cheating." He laughed, trying to get away, but not making a huge effort in doing so because he really was enjoying the attention he was getting.

"Nope, not cheating, just testing your skills," Santana laughed, continuing to dig her fingers up Stevie's ribs and under his arms. She finally let him go, ruffling his hair playfully as she took up her controller again.

"You are too cheating!" Stevie giggled, before long Santana stopped and when she grabbed her controller, he did the same. "Now, I'm going to smoke you!" He chuckled, once again concentrating on the game.

Santana played Stevie for a few more games, and when he won, she shook her head good naturedly. "Okay fine, I got smoked." Setting her controller down, she smiled over at him, then on impulse, pulled him into her lap, her arms loosely around his waist.

"And my piggy will go there. And my unicorn will go there. And my dolls will go there, and my teddy will go there, and my owl has to sit next to my giraffe 'cause they're best friends, and my horse can't sit next to my dragon 'cause they don't like each other," Toni chattered on, animatedly describing to Sam every detail of her stuffed animal's preferred placements and apparent relationships. "Plus also, my kitty has to be with my other kitty 'cause they are married."

She beamed up at Sam, suddenly hugging him around the legs. "I'm so so happy you are gonna marry my mami and be my daddy. 'Cause that's the rule when grown ups live together, right?"

Sam nodded, listening to Toni go on and on about where she was going to put all her stuffed toys. It was cute, and he swore he could get used to this. Which was the exact reason why he didn't freak out when she asked him about his plans to marry Santana. Picking her up, he looked at her and said, "Yup, I'm going to marry your mommy, but you have to promise not to tell her, okay? I want it to be a surprise. Can you do that for me, Toni?"

Antonia grinned, her dimples showing clearly in her cheeks as she nodded her head enthusiastically. She wrapped her arms back around Sam's neck and hugged him, her feet kicking slightly at his hips with excitement.

"Yeah! Yeah I am a super good secret keeper!"

Not really. But she intended to try her hardest.

"Thank you." Sam hugged Toni, a smile that could light up the whole room lighting up his face. He wasn't planning on proposing anytime soon, but knowing that he had Toni's support meant the world to him.

Toni hugged Sam back, grinning back at him. Still settled on his hip, she said mischievously, "Wanna know secrets about my mami? Really good ones?"

"Secrets? I love secrets. You better tell me some good ones." Sam put his ear next to her lips and smiled.

"I know lotsa secrets. Really good ones." Antonia leaned close to Sam's ear. She's incapable of whispering, so she basically says in a loud effort at doing so, "My mami cries at The Lion King. She says she just got dust in her eye but she gets it EVERY TIME. And she still gots a bear she had when she was little but she pretends it's mine. It's not though. It's called Oso and she won't even let me touch it."

She paused, looking to see Sam's reaction, and then continued, "And she's super scared of ladybugs. She screams if they get in the house. She said 'cause the dots look like eyes. I think they're cute though. She wouldn't even let me get a stuffed ladybug."

Toni had Sam laughing with all the little secrets she was telling him about Santana. "I am so going to use that on your mommy. Maybe I should give her a ladybug stuffed toy so she can keep Oso company. What do you think? She'll probably get mad huh?"

Antonia giggled, nodding enthusiastically. "Yes! Yes Oso needs a friend! A best friend! Let's get Mami's Oso his new bestest friend, Lady the Ladybug!" She dissolved into giggles, hiding her face against Sam's shoulder.

"I thought you'd agree. Oso definitely needs a friend. I think that you and I should go shopping for Ladybug. But we gotta keep mommy out of the loop. She can't know." Sam kissed the little girl's head when she hid her face.

"I won't tell," Antonia promised. She wound her fingers around Sam's collar, her head resting on his shoulder. After her long period of hyperactivity this morning, she was getting a little tired, and she slipped her thumb into her mouth. She smiled when Sam kissed her, speaking around her thumb; when she's not around Stevie, she still feels secure enough to do this. "I love you Daddy Sammy."

"Thank you." Sam said, kissing Toni on the forehead again. Judging by her actions, he could tell that she was getting sleepy, so he walked over to the bed and sat down, before gently releasing her and tucking her onto the bed. Her words had his heart melting. "I love you too, Toni." He told her, swiping her hair back and then gently placing a kiss on her forehead.

Thumb still in her mouth, Antonia curled up in bed, her eyes drifting shut. She dozed off into a nap, her little face relaxing as she gave in to sleep.

Trying not to disturb Toni's slumber, Sam left the room as soon as her eyes drifted shut. He made sure to close the door quietly and went to look for Santana. He found her with Stevie. She had Stevie on her lap, the sight melting his heart. He kept his distance, letting the two bond a little longer.

"Ha! I told you I was going to smoke you." Stevie announced proudly, letting Santana pull him onto her lap. "That was fun. You should play video games with me more often, but Toni can't join. She'll probably get mad if she don't win…" He sighed loudly and rest his head on her chest. "So…are you going to marry Sammy? I like you, you know. I can see you being Sammy's wife."

"Yep, you're a talented boy," Santana agreed, smoothing her hand through Stevie's hair. She laughed at his declaration that Toni can't join, ruffling his hair again. "Now, that doesn't seem very fair to tell her she can't play, does it? How about we compromise. If Toni wants to play, Sam or I will play with her, because we can handle it if she gets upset. I would love to play with you again, Stevie."

She took his question seriously, her brow furrowing as she thought. Absently her hand ran through Stevie's hair again as she replied.

"I don't know, Stevie. I like you too…and I really like your brother. It might happen one day."

Sam's brows rose. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Stevie was putting Santana on the spot just like Toni had done to him. He had to do something before his girlfriend freaked out and think that this is part of his scheme to get her to marry him or something.

Sam cleared his throat unnecessarily loudly and joined the two. "Hey, I thought you were going to unpack? Whatever happened to that? I see that video games takes priority." He laughed, mostly because he was nervous.

Stevie didn't like that he wasn't given a chance to respond. He had a lot to say about the matter, but Sammy hadn't given him the chance. "We'll talk later…" He smiled at Santana and then looked at his brother, "I was teaching Santana how to play video games. She's good, but not as good as I am." He shrugged.

Santana looked up at him, giving him a quick but somewhat awkward smile. "He did sorta kick my butt." Wondering if Sam heard, and what he was thinking, she lifted Stevie off of her and instead took his hand. "How about you help me unpack? But first I need someone to give me a grand tour of this place." She looked back at Stevie, eyebrows raised. "Toni is way too quiet for my comfort at the moment."

"He's a genius at video games, I wouldn't dare play with him." Sam smirked.

"I won Sammy. I was sooo good at it." Stevie announced proudly. He got up from his seat and offered his hand. "I'll give you a tour. Come one Tana!"

Sam looked on, chuckling. "Don't worry about Toni, she's fast asleep. She got tired after telling me all about her stuffed animals. You two go ahead and tour the house, I'm going to bring in the rest of the boxes."

"Oh, one day I'll beat him. You watch, I'm gonna take him down," Santana vowed, smirking. Taking Stevie's hand, she let him lead her through the house, genuinely interested in how he would describe everything. She doubts he'll be as chatty and long winded in his explanations as Toni would be.

Meanwhile, Toni has aroused from her catnap and is sitting up in bed, her face puckered up with utter bemusement, as she's forgotten where she is and how she got there. Shuffling out of bed and into the hallway, she stands, confused and rubbing her eyes, half pouting, her hair tousled. When Sam re-enters the hallway with another load, she attaches to his leg, practically tripping him, and says with still half shut eyes, "I don't know that bed. How come I got putted in a bed all alone?"

"No, you're not. I'm too good to beat." Stevie giggled and started the tour in the kitchen. "Here's the kitchen. Sammy cooks here. He hides my snacks up in the cabinet over there." He pointed at the cabinet next to the fridge. "He thinks I don't know he hides it there. Sometimes when he's in his room, I use the chair to climb up and get a cookie."

Sam went to grab a couple of boxes and set them down in the appropriate rooms. After a few rounds, he was back inside Toni's room with a few of her items. He smiled when he saw that she was wide awake and was now hanging onto his leg. He picked her up and settled her on his arm. "That's your new bed. You have your own room, remember? Your mommy didn't bring your other bed, so you're getting this one."

"Oh do you? Is that super safe, standing on a chair? I hope you don't balance on one leg like a flamingo," Santana teased Stevie. She looked at him closely, giving an exaggerated frown. "Whoa is that pink feathers I see?!"

From Sam's circle of arms, Antonia pouted at him, one hand on her hip. "This is not neither my bed. I want my bed. My bed is pretty and it's got my animals in it. I don't wanna sleep all by myself in a bed I don't know. It makes my alonely." That is her combination of alone and lonely.

"It is super safe. I've never fallen. Not once!" Stevie announce proudly. "I'm a tall boy. I don't need to balance like a flamingo." And then he was rolling his eyes at her joke, pretending to act as if he wasn't amuse. He walked ahead and went to the dining area. "So this is the dining table. We eat here and I do some of my homework here too."

Sam frowned, feeling really bad for Toni. "I'm sorry, Toni, but this is a nice bed too and you can put all your animals on it too. We can even put your favorite stickers on it. How would you like that? Wouldn't that be cool? I promise that you won't feel alone on this bed. It's a really nice and comfy bed."

"Hmmmmm," Santana said skeptically, thinking of her own child and how clumsy Antonia could be. "I think you probably look like at least a parakeet." She smirked, ruffling his hair again as she followed. "So what I want to know is, are there any awesome secret hideouts?"

Antonia considered this. She hadn't been allowed to put stickers on her bed at her old home. She finally nodded reluctantly. "Okay. I like this house a lot but it's big. I think I'm gonna get lost. I think we need to get all my animals out right now 'cause animals can find the way best. And I think we should tell them not to be scared in a new house 'cause I will protect them."

"I do not…" Stevie shook his head and a smirk came to him when Santana asked him about secret hideouts. "Oh yeah, I have one in my room and even one in Sammy's room. Oh and then there's the tree house. That's my favorite. You wanna see it?!"

Sam was relieved that Toni had agreed. "We can do that." He chuckled a little at her words, knowing full well that the animals were the one who would be doing the protecting. "You shouldn't be scared though. This house might be big, but it's a really nice house. It won't harm you at all."

Santana laughed again at Stevie's enthusiasm; it hasn't been very often that she's seen him look so pleased when she is around. She nodded, genuinely interested in what he has to show her. "Of course. I want to see, sounds like you have an awesome house."

"I am not scared!" Antonia proclaimed, indignant, as she gave Sam a scowl. "My animals are. I gotta protect them."

She dug through several boxes that Sam had brought in, finding two that were of stuffed animals, and started to arrange them carefully in a circle on the floor. Dragging Sam by the wrist, she pulled him down to the floor, then positioned herself in his lap as she explained.

"They gotta all see me and hear me. And I gotta sit in your lap so I'm up tall and they can see and hear me even better when I say we are safe in this big new scary house."

"Uh huh." Toni lay her head under Sam's chin, cuddling against his chest, and then pulled back a little, looking up at him. "Do you think I didn't get a daddy and you didn't get a little girl 'cause we had to meet first?"

"I do. I have the best house in the world." Stevie said proudly. He pulled Santana out to the yard and point up at the tree that stood at the side of the house. "That's my tree house. It's where I sit to think and play my games sometime. Can Toni not come in it? I don't want to share it with her. She'll just ruin it for me."

Santana let Stevie show her, making admiring noises. "Oh I would totally play in that if I was younger. Better watch it, I might just do it anyway." She paused, considering his question about Toni. "Well, Stevie…how about this. I really, really would love it a lot if you would try to get along with Toni. I know that she can be annoying sometimes, but she's younger than you, and it's been hard for her in her life too, just like it's been hard for you. So if you want this special space just for you, what I would like you to do is help Toni find her own special place. Does that sound fair?"

Stevie listened in, some parts of him wanted to retort, but then he thought better of it. "Okay, I'll help her find a secret place. Maybe there's one in her room or we could ask Sammy to make her a play house in the yard? I think she would like that. Don't girls like stuff like that?" He tilted his head to look up at Santana.

"I think that sounds like a great idea," Santana told Stevie with a warm smile. "That would be very nice of you and I think she would like it a lot. It would be her special place." She slid an arm around Stevie's shoulders again as she continued to walk with him.

Stevie felt proud that he had suggested building a play house for Toni. He still found her annoying, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings so much. This was going to be her home too and even if he didn't like the idea of having her living here with them, he did like having Santana around. "Thank you. We'll go ask Sammy to make her one. I think everyone should have a special place."

"I think you're right," Santana smiled at him, taking hold of his hand. "Should we go find Sam now and tell him?" She paused, then said seriously, "I want you to know, Stevie, if you ever need special time with just you and Stevie, like I have my special time with Toni, just let us know. I'll make sure you get some time."

"We should tell him. He's going to be really happy that I suggest this idea. He wants me to be nice to Toni and I'm trying to be…" Stevie smiled, proud of the fact that he was trying to do what Sammy asked of him. "I know. I'll tell you if I need Sammy and me time."

Hearing that Santana was proud of him, made Stevie smile. He liked that feeling and wanted it to stay. "I will tell you. Sammy and I will have our time together." He told her, giving her a toothy smile before they walked back to the house. "Sammy! Where are you?" He called as they walked in.

Sam chuckled, "Oh sorry, I just too excited." He moved his arms, so that they weren't imprisoning Toni's, "There, this is much better." He nodded, "I always want to make your mommy happy and now I want you to to be happy too. Daddy man huh? Well, I guess she got her wish…"

Sam's brows lifted, and he said in a calm voice, "I know you're not. I was just saying that in general." He back paddled, then watched as she lined the animals up. Following her instructions, he sat her on his lap, "Okay, I think you can start now." He found this whole thing amusing and cute, but didn't dare laugh for fear that it might draw a negative reaction out of Toni.

Snuggling back into Sam's chest, Antonia moves Sam's arms so they are around her. Feeling more secure like this, she addresses her toys. "Guess what. Daddy Sammy says this place is safe and he lives here so I guess he knows. I will protect you and I will even fight the scary things for you. Maybe. Except Dolly Dragon, she can fight them herself I think."

Sam's heart melted, a smile etched on his face as he listened to Toni calling him Daddy Sammy. He wanted to squeeze her tightly and kiss her all over, but he let her speak to her animals and didn't interrupt.

"I think they all need hugs," Toni decided. "So they can know for sure they're okay." Still in Sam's arms, on his lap, she leans forward, straining to pick up each and every animal individually to hug them,even though that meant she was constantly squirming and twisting around to accomplish it. "All better."

"You think so? I think you're right." Sam smiled and watched as Toni gave each of them a hug. Then when she was done, he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed a little, giving her a warm hug. "I need a hug too…" He chuckled. "I'm glad you are here, Toni. You and your mommy is making me very happy."

Antonia looked up at Sam with a smile, cuddling back into him. "I can't hug you back when you gots your arms over my arms!" She wiggled around again so she was still sitting on his lap, but facing him, and hugged him back. "You make me happy too. Plus my mami. She smiles a lot. I think she wanted a daddy man too."

"Maybe. You could be right about that. I don't know for sure. But I do know that I like having you as my first little girl." Sam kissed the top of Toni's head. Then he heard Stevie calling out for him and shouted back, "I'm in Toni's room."

Stevie heard his brother's voice and let go of Santana's hand in a hurry to run to the bedroom that was going to be for Toni. "Sammy! Sammy!" He said excitedly as he tugged on his brother's pant leg. "I think that you should make a play house for Toni. That way I don't gotta share my tree house with her."

Santana followed Stevie, chuckling. As Stevie burst into her room, Toni scowled, thinking that he was going to push her off of Sam or else try to make her mad. But when he started talking about building a playhouse, she broke into a smile, tugging at Sam's arm too.

"Yeah! Play house play house play house! I wanna get a play house!"

Sam was a bit taken aback by Stevie's suggestion. He was still proud though. His little brother hadn't even mad a fuss about him holding Toni and now, she was suggesting that they build a play house for Toni. This was indeed the step in the right direction. "Well, I guess you got your answer. We're building a playhouse!" Then he looked at Santana, silently asking if she had a hand in all of this.

"Yayyyyyy! Yayyyyyy playhouse!" Antonia clapped excitedly, bouncing up and down in Sam's lap. "Mami this house is AWESOME!"

Laughing at her daughter's reaction, Santana met Sam's eyes, even as she spoke to her. "Looks like you should thank Stevie for his good idea."

"THANK YOU STEVIE FOR YOUR GOOD IDEA!" Antonia half bellowed, giving another bounce, and Santana looked at Sam innocently, as though it wasn't her idea at all, but she's smiling.

Stevie wasn't really looking for recognition, all he truly wanted was for his brother to know that he was listening to his advice and trying to be nice to Toni.

Sam was so proud of Stevie. He wasn't too sure how things were going to work out with Stevie and Toni, but it looks like things were looking up after all. "Thank you, Stevie. I'm so proud of you, buddy." He ruffled his brother's hair as he tried to balance a bouncing Toni in his arms.

"So, I think that we should finish unpacking and then later, we can go out to get supplies to build Toni's play house and have dinner. What do you say?" He suggested.

"Oooh… Can we have pizza? I love pizza…" Stevie asked, looking at his brother with wide eyes.

"PIZZA PIZZA!" Antonia was still pretty much shouting everything, still bouncing. Shaking her head at her, Santana came forward, lifting her out of Sam's lap and setting her on the floor, taking her gently by the shoulders in an effort to steady and calm her.

"You're gonna make us all need to hold our ears, mija." Looking up at Sam, she nodded agreement. "Sounds like exactly what we should do. Anchovies and pickles for toppings?" She was teasing, but Antonia fell for it as always.

"Nooooooo so gross Mami!"

Laughing, Santana ruffled her hair. "Pepperoni it is." As she watched the children cheer excitedly and smiled across them to Sam, she felt that she truly was home.


	13. Chapter 13

Antonia was very, super excited to live in Sammy and Stevie's house now with her mami. It was a big, pretty house, way bigger and prettier than the apartment she and Mami had been in, and it had a nice big yard she could run around in and Sammy said that he would make her a playhouse. There were lots and lots of rooms and she could live with Sammy and he would be her daddy, and she had always wanted a daddy. Antonia could tell that he really loved her a lot, just like she loved him, and she thought he loved her mami too. That was nice. It was very super nice, and she didn't even mind too much that dumb Stevie was living there too because he even told Sammy to make her a playhouse.

But there was a problem with the house and that was that it was just too big. Antonia was sure there had to be monsters hiding somewhere, because how could they resist a house that was this big, when there were so many places to hide? There were so many closets and beds and couches and all kinds of places they could be under or behind, and even though Sammy said that there weren't any in her room, Antonia wasn't sure. What if they disappeared in the day time and came back in the night time? And anyway grown ups couldn't see monsters, everyone knew that.

She didn't want to go to sleep all by herself in her bed. She just wanted to go sleep with her mami because monsters were scared of grown ups. Everyone knew that too. But her mami wouldn't let her, which wasn't even fair, because her mami got to sleep with Sammy instead of all alone like Antonia was. After she had been tucked in for the night, Antonia leapt out of bed, turning on her light and opening the door to her bedroom. Then she got scared, because what if there wasn't a monster in her room right now, but it would come in through the door? So she jumped up again and slammed it shut and locked it.

But then a new thought came to her. What if the monster was in her room, and she needed to run out fast, but the door was locked and she couldn't get out fast enough? So she jumped up again and unlocked it, then started to rearrange her stuffed animals in a circle around her bed. But then a new thought occurred to her- what if the monsters ate all her stuffed animals on the floor like that? She better put them in her bed to protect her.

So Antonia carried all her stuffed animals into her bed, but she didn't have a lot of room for herself in there too. Her brow scrunching up, fitful grunting noises escaping her as she tossed and turned, she finally sat up, certain that she had seen something move. Hollering at the top of her lungs, she yelled out for help.

"MAMI! MAMI I NEED YOU! DADDY SAMMY HELP!"

"You hear that?" Sam asked after a few minutes of silence. "Silence." Stevie and Toni were asleep and they were finally free to go to bed or do other extracurricular activities, and right now, he felt like doing the latter. "You know what that means?" He wiggled his brows, "It means that you and I get to have some fun…"

Sam pulled Santana on top of him and claimed her lips in a heated kiss.

Santana grinned, tangling her fingers into Sam's hair and kissing him back just as intensely. She wrapped her legs around his waist, starting to grind herself against him, until her daughter's screech pierced her eardrums and nearly gave her a heart attack. Sam was even more shocked than she was- as was evident by his shoving her off of him and onto the floor. Temporarily numb from the pain in her elbow with her concern for Antonia, Santana scrambled up and followed in Sam's trail, heart pounding.

"Toni, are you okay? What's wrong? Did somebody hurt you?" He asked her in a frenzy and panic as he looked around the room.

"Toni, what, what's wrong?" Santana echoed.

But she stopped short as she looked frantically around the room, realizing that there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary except all thirty stuffed animals crowded in Antonia's bed, barely leaving space for the child herself. Antonia's chest was heaving, her face puckered up as though near panic herself, and she reached out her arms immediately as she saw Sam and Santana. 

"I heard the monsters! They are gonna eat me up!"

Santana couldn't stop herself. She facepalmed, complete with a loud sigh. This was life with her daughter, all right.

Sam still looking around the room in a panic, wondered if an intruder had gotten in the house. When he heard Toni's words however, he was positive that nothing like that had happened. He blew out a sigh of relieved and looked down at the little girl.

"There are no monsters here, Toni. I check before you moved in. Even Stevie checked." He reassured her.

Hearing the commotion next door, Stevie grumbled and got out of bed. He went to check to see what was going on and let out a chuckle seeing Toni looking scared and surrounding by her stuffed animals.

"I was trying to sleep, you know." He said sternly, with his arms folded.

"Are too monsters! You can't look 'cause you can't see them even when they're here! And they can come in through walls, they came in again since Stevie looked," Antonia insisted. She hugged a very unfierce looking stuffed cat to her chest, looking up at her mother and Sam pleadingly, and ignored Stevie entirely.

"I hear them growling. They wanna eat me up. And my stuffed animals are not being very good guards. They said they don't wanna get eaten up too."

Santana sighed again, moving to sit on the edge of her daughter's bed. This was rather difficult and meant there were about four animals under her butt, but when she tried to throw some down, Antonia shrieked again.

"Mami! You are gonna throw it down and it will get eaten!"

"There's no monsters," Sam and Stevie says in unison, Stevie's tone a lot harsher than Sam's.

"I told you this house is monster free, I left a few stinky socks under your bed the other day to make sure they're gone for good," Stevie added, lying through his teeth. He resented the fact that he was still awake at his bed time and if lying meant that he would get to go to sleep, then he would do it gladly.

"It's true. Stevie did put the socks in the room," Sam backed up his little brother, grateful for his smart retort. Maybe, he'd be able to get some intimate time with Santana after all.

The sock solution is about the dumbest thing Santana has ever heard. But if Antonia buys it, she'll go with it.

"Hey, yeah, remember, they hate socks, Toni."

Antonia frowned, protesting. "But Mami, I looked and I didn't see no socks there…" her brow furrowed, and then her eyes grew huge as a new idea popped into her thoughts. "MAMI!? WHAT IF THERE IS A NEW MONSTER AND HE LIKES TO EAT STINKY SOCKS?! HE MUSTA ATE IT CAUSE ITS ALL GONE!"

Stevie rolled his eyes, Toni was panicking again and he was getting tired of listening to her. "There's no monsters! I took the socks away. Didn't think you wanted to sleep with stinky socks lying around. And there's no new monster." He looked at his brother to back him up.

Sam put a hand on Stevie's shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. He was glad that Stevie was trying to help, even if it wasn't working very well. "Toni, I need you to stop panicking okay? There are no monsters in here. I know this because I sleep here sometimes. Even Stevie do that and we've never seen a monster in this room or in any part of the house."

"You took them AWAY?! But you said they keep monsters away! They comed back down 'cause the socks are gone! And all my socks are gettin' washed and they aren't stinky!"

Antonia was fast nearing tears, not even dignifying Sam's calm answer with a response. To her, Sam obviously was not aware of the reality of this terrible, terrible situation. Sighing, Santana decided on her own course of action, which was to ignore the monster situation entirely and just put Antonia to sleep. She lay down, uncomfortably feeling several stuffed animals digging into her back, and put her arms around her daughter, rocking her slightly and beginning to sing.

"Waves will race in, storms will rage in, but you will be safe in my arms. Rain will pour down, wind will crash around, but you will be safe in my arms…"

Stevie and Sam were both speechless. They didn't know what to say to the crying little girl. Both have never had to deal with the likes of Toni before and now with her in a near meltdown mode, they couldn't say a word to her. Thankfully, Santana was taking care of her.

"Maybe you should go to bed, Stevie," Sam suggested, ruffling his brother's hair, "Come on, I'll take you."

Stevie nodded and walked out of the room with his brother behind him. Then he settled in bed and asked, "Is this going to happen every night? I don't want it to. I don't like hearing her screams…"

"I hope not, buddy. Toni is getting adjusted to living here, so she gets scared sometimes. I'm sorry it's disturbing your sleep. But I am proud of you for not making things worse," Sam smiled. "You are being a big boy."

"Don't like waves. Don't like rain. Yucky," Antonia whispered, but her eyes were drifting shut, her thumb moving to her mouth. She let Santana rock her, singing softly, and gradually her body started to relax.

As Santana eased her arms from around her, stroking her hair and her forehead to try to settle her more, Antonia seemed to be drifting off. Santana gave her a few more minutes, still stroking her hair and face, and then slowly stood, following Sam down the hall. Peeking in on Stevie, she went forward and gave him a little hug, kissing the top of his head.

"I'm sorry, she's never slept in a house this big before. She'll settle down…eventually…I hope," she added the last three words under her breath. "Thank you for being so nice to her today, Stevie. Sleep well."

Stevie smiled at his brother and Santana and let out a yawn. "You're welcome. I'm sleepy now…" He rubbed his eyes. "Can I go to bed?"

Sam chuckled, Stevie had never been the kind to beat around the bush, especially when it came to sleeping. "Yeah, you can." He kissed his brother on the cheek and ruffled his head again. "Night, buddy. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Then, he got up to leave. Shutting the door quietly behind him. "Disaster averted. You ready to have some fun now?" He asked, once again wiggling his brows at his sexy girlfriend as he pulled her in his arms, carrying her to their room.

"Good night." Santana patted Stevie too, then backed away out the door with Sam. As Sam lifted her up, she grinned, wrapping an arm around her neck and kicking the door closed. She pulled Sam down on top of her on the bed, her lips crashing into his.

But in her room, Antonia has started to stir awake, registering unconsciously that Santana isnt' holding her and has stopped singing. Sitting up, rubbing at her eyes, she stumbles out of bed, shaking her head as she tries to think again of what she can do to keep the monsters at bay. An idea occurred to her, and she ran with heavy, stomping footsteps to the kitchen, starting to loudly open all the drawers she could reach in search of a spoon.

Sam went into action, quickly removing Santana's clothes when they got inside the room. After tonight, he needed to move fast. He had only started removing Santana's shirt, when he heard what sounded like someone running through the house. "What the…?" He scrunched his brows, "Please tell me that's not Toni again. Please…"

Sucking in an annoyed breath, trying to calm her breathing, Santana slowly pulled away, slipping her shirt back on. It's backwards, but she didn't care.

"Ha, it's a monster. My little three foot monster."

Exhaling loudly, she got out of bed, shaking her head. "You can stay here if you want."

Sam slump back down to the bed, feeling completely defeated. "I can't believe this. We will never have sex again…" He mumbled, then got up with her. "No I'll go with you." He righted his appearance and opened the door for Santana. "You first."

In the kitchen, Antonia was busy noisily dragging a chair across the floor, scraping its legs all the way. She had a stack of books on the floor, knocked over across the kitchen, and she continued to struggle with the chair as her mother and Sam entered the room. Santana put her hands on her hips, giving a loud sigh again.

"Antonia Cristina Lopez. What are you doing?"

Antonia looked up, still dragging at the chair. "I'm gonna make a monster trap, Mami. See, if I put all these chairs in front of my door I'll hear the monster come in. Then they will knock over the chairs and books and the spoon will get hit and fly up and hit them in the eye and then they can't see me to eat me."

Santana just stared at her. She didn't know if she wanted to burst into hysterical laughter or scream.

Sam's jaw dropped. How could one small child make this much mess in such a small amount of time? It wasn't possible. He looked around the room and ran his hands over his hair. He was sort of a neat freak and couldn't go to sleep unless the place was clean, so he set out to clean the place while Tana dealt with Toni.

"Antonia….Cristina…Lopez," Santana took another breath, trying to keep herself calm as she responded. "You know it's night time. And you know that means you stay in your room, in your bed, until morning. It's not morning. And even if it was, you don't go moving things around in the kitchen that don't belong to you."

"But Mami, I'm catching the monster," Antonia said earnestly. She let go of the chair, coming over to Santana and tugging at her arm. "It would be faster if you would help me out and then I can go to bed."

Santana's lips twitched as again she tried not to laugh. "No. Put that spoon back and stack those books back up, you can pick them up in the morning. It's time to sleep. I'm pretty sure the monsters are scared away by all this noise."

"No, they aren't," Antonia shook her head. "They like noise. That's why they growl."

Santana marched her back to her room, depositing her with somewhat less patience in her bed. And Antonia jumped up and threw herself at her legs, trying to keep her from leaving.

"Mami! Mami, no, don't leave me! Monsters are gonna get me!"

It took another back and forth round of Santana ordering Antonia into bed and Antonia begging before Santana ended up singing to her again. Twenty minutes and she was PRETTY sure an asleep child later, she returned to Sam, shaking her head.

"Still think you want another kid?"

Sam picked up all the books, and any mess that Toni had made. Any normal man would have been mad, he found this hilarious however because things seemed to always happen when he and Santana were trying to get intimate.

20 minutes passed and he was finally happy with the state of his home. He went back into the bedroom and picked out a book, knowing full well that any kind of sexual acts would not be happening tonight.

He started reading and only put his book down when Santana entered the room. He laughed a little at her remark and pulled her into his arms. "Yes, I want kids with you, but for right now, we are not going to talk about that. Let me hold you for a little while." He told her, kissing her on the cheek and then snuggling up to her.

Santana curled herself up close, wrapping her arms around Sam's waist and tucking her head against his shoulder. She pressed her legs into his, exhaling into his chest.

"Sounds good. As long as you don't start singing because I swear if I go to sleep and she wakes me up, I'm gonna be teaching her some new and inappropriate words."

Sam chuckled, stroking her hair back, his lust was building again, it was hard not to feel anything when he had Santana curling up to him and rubbing up on him. He was a guy after all…

"I won't sing, and if she makes a sound, I'll go see what she wants so you can sleep." He kissed her on the forehead again, "Go to sleep, baby. I love you…"

Santana murmured, content with the feeling of Sam's touch. She closed her eyes, very comfortable, even as she mumbled back to him, "No, not going to sleep. Keep doing that."

Meanwhile, in Antonia's room, the little girl was stirring again, forcing herself awake. She stumbled and staggered, eyes barely open, and knocked into the dresser, falling down. For a moment she is too stunned to respond, but then she kicked the dresser in anger, yelping when it hurt her bare toes. Scowling, more awake then, she started to pad down the hallway. She eased open the door to the adults' bedroom, peeking just her nose in, and blinked in surprise to see her mother being held by Sam.

"Are you scared of the monsters too?"

"Sleep, baby." After a while, Sam's eyes began to drift close. It was nice to have Santana in his arms. She made him feel comfortable, safe and loved, and it was a feeling that he hadn't had…at least not for a while now.

Sleep had almost claimed him when Toni's voice woke him up. He let out an internal groan and smiled at the little girl, "No, I'm not. I'm trying to go to sleep. You should do the same too. Did you want me to bring you back to bed?"

Santana has drifted off, and although she vaguely heard voices, she assumed them to be part of her dream. She snuggled in closer to Sam, subconsciously wrapping more around him in her sleep. Antonia stared at them with open curiosity, her fingers in her mouth as she spoke around them.

"I never saw my mami get held like that. Did she get scared of the monsters?"

She tilted her head, considering Sam's offer, and shook her head. "No…can I sleep with you and Mami? I would be very safe then I think."

Sam considered letting Toni sleep with them, but after looking down at a comfortably sleeping Santana, he decided against this. Their bedroom was the only place where they could find some privacy and he wasn't ready to give that up.

"No, Toni, she's not scared of monsters. She just likes being held when she sleeps. I do too, so we sleep together. That's what adults who are in love do." He smiled at the little girl.

"You need to be a big girl and go to bed. There is nothing to be afraid of."

"Oh. I like being held too," Antonia said simply, still looking at her mother with fascination. "It's nice."

The mention of her mother being in love skimmed past her as she frowned, focusing on his statement to go to bed. "But…I'm not even sleepy. I think I should stay awake. Can I stay awake if I be super quiet?" Even as she said this she was rubbing her eyes with one hand, sucking on her fingers with her other.

"I know you do, but your mommy is asleep and I don't want her to wake up. If you laid down with us, she would be waking. You wouldn't want that to happen, do you?" Sam asked in a light yet pleading tone.

Toni wasn't having that apparently and told him that she wasn't tired. The evidence showed differently. She was rubbing her eye and sucking her fingers. The little girl was tired. "You should go to sleep, Toni. It's late and we have a long day tomorrow. We were going to paint your room and build you a playhouse, remember? I'm going to need you help with those two things, so you need to go to bed."

Antonia kept rubbing her eyes, shaking her head, but she was barely keeping them open. This time, it might actually be for good that she goes to sleep; she had reached the point of near exhaustion. "I don't wanna go down the hall by myself. It's dark and the monsters might see me. Can you go with me…can you carry me and be stompy so they hear your big feet and don't wanna come back?"

Sam, despite being hesitant to leave the comfort of his bed and his cuddly girlfriend behind, decided that he was just going to be 'uncomfortable' for a few more minutes and do as Toni request of him. Getting up slowly, he placed a kiss on Santana's forehead and gently let her go. Then, he went to Toni and carried her in his arms. "Alright, let's do this, but this time, you have to sleep."

He did as she requested, stomping his feet once they got outside the bedroom. He even went as far as to place a used sock that he had grabbed from the laundry basket in his and Santana's room and placing it on the floor near the foot of Toni's bed. "For your protection."

He then tucked her in, and kissed her goodnight. He sat in her room for a few minutes and once he was sure that she had fallen asleep, he quietly left the room and went back to his own. Sleep came fast after that. Thankfully, Toni never woke up again that night.

88

Santana and Antonia's first week with the Evans boys in their new home had finally passed, and Santana was way more than ready for a getaway, already. It had been a lot of adjustment for them both- for Antonia much more than for Santana. Although Antonia clearly loved her new home, and especially being so close to her new "Daddy Sammy," she was a fearful child, slow to adjust to change, by nature, despite her feisty personality. She was very used to her own small, familiar apartment, and to only having her mami around, with no one else to divert her attention from her.

With Santana's attention now often fixated on Sam or Stevie, Antonia was somewhat disgruntled at times, and would come up with ways to guarantee it was focused back on her. Not to mention, she was unsettled at night for many evenings of the first week, waking up crying from nightmares or running out of her bed in fear of the "monsters" that Santana was sick to death of hearing about after night one. And every night that she didn't sleep well, she would be grumpy and teary in the morning, wanting to cling to Santana or Sam and refuse to go to pre-K or be very cooperative until well after lunch time.

Santana loved her daughter to death, and she didn't in any way regret moving her to a safer, more comfortable home. But man, did she wish that she was a more easygoing child who would take change in stride, because it would be just so much easier for them both. And she REALLY wished that she and Stevie were best buddies instead of frequently clashing and locking horns over what to her were completely ridiculous reasons.

But by the end of the week, Antonia was finally starting to settle down, as long as Santana repeated a very structured routine before bedtime, involving a bath, hair brushing, snuggles in her bed with a story, and an exact number of kisses on her face, as well as a kiss on each hand, the top of each foot, and her belly, because Santana had finally come up with a stroke of genius to lower her fear of the monsters. Not only did monsters hate smelly socks, they also hated kisses, because they were mean and grumpy and thought they were gross. So as long as she put kisses where they couldn't "bite off her toes" or "gobble up my hands" then Antonia seemed to believe she was safe.

Finally.

But as difficult as the week had been in some ways, it had been wonderful in others. The more time Santana spent with Stevie, the more she realized how much she really was starting to love the little boy. He was quieter than Antonia, and he was much less open about his thoughts and feelings, but he was earnest, eager to please, and very sweet in his own way. Santana couldn't resist hugging him, ruffling his messy hair, and talking to him about his games and his friends at school, trying to see just how his little mind worked, and how it differed from how her daughter's did.

But most of all, far and away the best part of the move was Sam. Spending every day with him, watching him in all situations interacting with his brother and Toni, how patient and loving he was, how he rarely complained and always tried his best, made Santana love him more and more deeply without even having to try. Every time he cooked a meal or scooped her daughter up for a hug, every time he touched the small of Santana's back or kissed her forehead or shoulder with casual affection, she wanted to throw him down on the bed and show him just how much she thought of him.

Problem was, there weren't always uninterrupted opportunities to do so. They could hardly lock the kids into their rooms at night, and with Toni's first rough week, sex was an absolute no go. By the end of their first week they definitely needed a break, and when Sam mentioned his uncle's cabin in the woods, right near a lake, Santana had been enthusiastic. Sure, she had never gone to the woods, ever, for any reason, but if that meant time alone with Sam, for an entire weekend, while Sam's uncle took Stevie and her mother took Antonia, then she was all for it. She pictured a sparkling clean, sprawling chalet of a place, with several hot tubs, thick Persian rugs in front of a fireplace, deer happily frolicking across the lawn, and maybe even a host of Disney-like animals singing and flitting about to complete the picture. Camping and hiking and getting herself around anything potentially creepy in nature was not her thing, but that hardly dampened her excitement.

She would have TWO WHOLE NIGHTS with Sam alone, and damn, were they gonna make the most of it.


	14. Chapter 14

The week for Sam went by in a blur. It was the same routine, but adding Santana and Toni into the mix. Sleep became a distant memory to him as Toni struggle to adjust to the new living environment. She would wake him and Tana up nightly, and then in the morning acted as if they were the ones who had interrupted her sleep. He should be annoyed by this, but no, it wasn't that was bugging him.

One week with Toni and Stevie living under one roof was enough to make Sam want to pull all his hair out. The two were terrible together. They couldn't leave each other alone. They each had a snarky comeback and it would give him a headache to try to stop them. By the end of the week, he was putting his hands up in surrender and ready to leave the two for the weekend.

His uncle was the one who suggested that he bring Tana out to his cabin. It wasn't much to look at, but it would give them the privacy that they greatly needed. Plus, he hadn't had sex since Santana and Toni moved in and blue couldn't even describe the state his dick was in. He would be getting 2 nights of uninterrupted time with Tana and he was going to use it well.

The drive from Lima to the cabin took approximately 2 and a half hours. They chatted about things, both feeling excited for the weekend. When he pulled up at the cabin, childhood memories came flooding back to him. He smiled, then got out to assist Santana.

He stretched an arm out and put the free hand on his hip, presenting the cabin to Santana. "So what do you think? She's a beauty, right? I love this place. My parents and I use to come here during the summer when I was little. We would fish, swim, we even did some camping one time. You and I should do that. That would be something nice for us to do together."

"Come on, I'll show you around. He tugged on her hand, pulling her along with him.

Santana had grown almost as excited as Sam, okay, maybe more so, as they drove. She was practically bouncing in her seat like her daughter would have, grinning in anticipation. But when they pulled up to the actual cabin, and the reality hit her that she was totally surrounded by trees, it dawned on her that there were very likely creatures in the woods. Creatures like bears, wolves, bats…and…there damn well better not be spiders. Even as she smiled at Sam she stepped close to him, linking arms so she could use him as a shield if needed.

"Usually when I think camping, I think "in a camper," but maybe. Gonna carry me across the threshold, studly one?" Because that way she could be sure she wouldn't step on a snake.

Sam laughed at Santana's remark and did as she asked of him. He carried her bridal style into the cabin before setting her on her feet. "So what do you think? It's a beauty, right?" The place was a bit dusty, but that was to be expected. His uncle only comes ever few months.

"I'm going to do some cleaning though and change the sheets before we dirty it again." He chuckled, wiggling his brows. "Why don't you go exploring while I do that?"

Santana looked around, noting that the place did have rustic charm. Although the decor was not exactly her style. She smiled at Sam, wrapping an arm around his waist and standing on her toes to whisper in his ear, just to send a shiver down his spine.

"If we're just gonna make them dirty, why bother to take the time to get them clean?"

Sam could feel his goosebumps rising. He spun Tana around to have him and retorted, "You're right about that. Why bother?" He chuckled, pulling her in for a passionate kiss.

He blindly shifted them backwards until the back of his legs hit the bed and sent them both stumbling onto it. He broke the fall with his body with Santana lying on top of him. "Mmm… I missed this. I'm going to have lots of fun with you this weekend." He smirked, slapping her on the ass and went back to kissing her before she could form a retort.

Santana laughed out loud as Sam spun her, almost giddy with anticipation. She smiled into the kiss, leaning into him more and more heavily, but she was still surprised when he fell back, taking her with him. Snorting, this cut off by his kiss, she kissed him back deeply, her tongue caressing his as her hands began to roam beneath his shirt. She slid her palms up his chest and then down his sides, already grinding into him.

Sam hissed, feeling Santana's hot core on his crotch. His hands went up her body, smoothing down her skin as their tongues continued to tangle together. "So hot." He mumbled in between kisses. He pushed her away, so that he could take off her clothes and he did it slowly and deliberately, leaving kisses in his wake.

Santana wiggled against him, impatient, wanting her clothes off and fast. She stretched her neck up to kiss him again, but stopped as he kissed down her body,arching up, her breathing quickening. "God…"

"It's Sam." He jested as he continued his journey down her body, her item of clothing being removed one at a time. He undo her bra, kissing both breasts before taking a nipple into his mouth, sucking and swirling his tongue around it and doing the same with the other one.

Santana snorted, burying her face in his collarbone to suppress it. The snickering quickly became gasps as Sam began to tease her breasts, and she gripped his hips, digging her nails in and slowly sliding them down towards his thighs.

Sam, feeling Santana's sharp nails on his skin, got greedy and began grinding up on Santana. His lips and tongue were still busy sucking and licking her nipples. Once he was satisfied, he moved further down her body. He pulled down her panties and without so much as a single word, he buried his face on her pussy and began pleasuring her.

Santana gave a muffled shriek at the sensation of his tongue entering her so fast, and her hips bucked against him, her thigh muscles twitching. She gripped him even harder, undulating her hips in faster rhythm into his movements, her breathing becoming near pants.

Sam loved the reaction that he was getting, so he began to hum as he suckled on her clit. He was determined to get her to cum.

The feel of Sam humming against her vibrates through her pleasurably, only increasing the intensity of the sensation. Santana doesn't take much time to get to the edge, her eyes open wide, a sharp cry escaping her as she cums, her limbs trembling with pleasure. She lies back, taking a few moments to try to catch her breath, one hand still stroking over Sam's back and side, the other gripped tightly in his hair.

Sam felt like he just won the lottery when Santana came. He went on to pleasure her, licking on her slit until she came down from her blissful high. Then, he moved back towards her and went to kiss her. Sharing her juices with her in the process. "You taste delicious." He said, smirking and smacking his lips together. "Do you feel better?"

Santana giggled, finding it really strange to taste herself, but not unpleasant. She let her head come to rest against Sam's chest, pulling him over her so he covered her entirely with his body as she stroked her hand down his back and over his buttocks, lightly scratching. "Oh fuck yes I do. And believe me, give me a second and I'll make you feel better too."

Sam smirked, liking the answer to his question. "I love it when you cuss." He kissed her lightly, hovering over her. He was trying not to crush her, but she was rubbing his back and making goosebumps rise on his skin with her words. "It's been a second," He joked, "It's time to get to work and please your man, woman…"

"Oh yeah? Is that because you're a naughty, dirty boy?" Santana kissed him back, using tongue, trying to pull him closer, flush against her. She wasn't worried about being crushed. She twined one leg around his, pulling him even more tightly against her, even as she laughed and slapped his ass. "Or I could change my mind and give you blue balls."

"I'll be your dirty boy any day, baby…" Sam returned with a slight laugh, groaning into her kiss and tangling his tongue together with hers.

He couldn't really get away with not crushing her when she wrapped a leg around him. The kiss was broken when she jokingly threatened to stop. "Aww.. Come one, babe, you know I was just joking. Besides, the kids gave me blue balls enough. This weekend is all about us, remember?" He gave her a charming smile, hoping to see her smile.

"Oh really…" Santana pushed against his chest with both hands, wanting him to fall back onto his back. Once he had obliged, she straddled him, squeezing his legs in between her thighs as she began to kiss, suck, and lightly nip her way down his chest, nails scratching at his thighs as she slowly trailed her way down towards them and over towards the inside of his thighs with her tongue.

"Really," Sam answered before falling back on the bed with am 'umph' and letting Santana have all the control. She was driving him out of his mind with her kisses and oddly enough, her scratching him. He didn't know that he liked that before he met her, but now, he couldn't seem to think of sex without it. His eyes were rolled back, incoherent words leaving his mouth as he anticipated her next move. She was descending down, going towards his dick and it was jumping for joy, waiting for her wet and hot mouth to engulf it.

Santana took her time, wanting to drag it out, so that when she finally focused her full attention on his dick, he would release almost immediately. She licked his upper thighs, swirling her tongue to write her name so it sloped down towards his inner thighs. When she took his penis into her mouth, her tongue lightly wrapping around, her hands continue to rub over his thighs to build his excitement.

Sam might have squealed when Santana finally put his dick in her mouth. His balls tightened and he could feel that he was going to cum very soon. "Slow down, babe, I'm not going to last with you like this," He warned her or at least tried to do it, but of course she wasn't listening to him. She kept going, drawing him even closer to his happy ending. "Oh god. I'm going to CUMMMM!" He shouted as he lost all control and came harder than he felt he had ever did into her sweet mouth.

Santana swallowed, still stroking his inner legs to try to ease him down, and then pulled back, taking his penis into her hand and stroking it lightly to continue to help him wind down. Then, sitting up, she broke into a grin, laughing, and fell back against his chest. "God we needed that."

Sam sighed, a sense of peace washing through him. He saw the smile on Santana's face and chuckled at her reaction. "I know we did. The kids, as much as I love them are the worse cockblockers in the world." He laughed, pulling Santana tighter in his arms and kissing her forehead.

Santana laughed again, her limbs loose and relaxed against him. She snuggled in close, kissing his shoulder. "No shit. I swear, imagine if they actually understood what sex was, how bad it would be." She imitated Toni's high pitched voice in a mock yell. "Mamiiiiii open the door, are you doing that super gross thing with Daddy Sammy?!"

Sam laughed out loud, shaking his head, "Yeah, let's not tell them about sex. Let them find out later on, much later on down the road. I still need sex. Lots of it with you." He kissed her forehead and once again, laughed, "Stop, you're killing my mood. I don't need to hear that from Toni. And sex is not gross. It is super hot." He flipped her over onto her back and wiggled his brows and kissed her again, grinding his erection against her core.

"Yeah, I think I just killed my own mood with that," Santana smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Want to see if you can improve it?" She pressed back into his crotch, sliding her tongue against his as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Sam pulled back a little and cockily answered, "I can definitely do that." Then, he lowered his head again and went back to kissing Santana, groaning in pleasure as she wrapped her legs around him. A few minutes later, he was pulling back to ask, "Are you back in the mood yet?" He wiggled his brows.

"Oh, you can, huh?" Santana's teasing words were cut off by Sam's mouth,and she gives back as enthusiastically as she is being given, loving how hard he is trying to bring her pleasure. She managed to gasp out "I was never out of the mood," before her lips seize onto his again, and she rolls herself back on top of him. This might be a long night, but she was going to enjoy every single second of it, no matter how sleep deprived they would be when morning came. It wasn't like they had anywhere else to go or anything they'd rather do but take complete pleasure in each other.

88 

After their long night together, Santana and Sam had slept late, tangled up in each other. Fortified by coffee, Santana walked with him towards the river, only a pair of skimpy shorts covering her turquoise bikini as she swung his hand in hers.

"Exactly how cold is this water?"

Sam felt relaxed after spending the full night with Santana undisturbed. He was sated and now they were headed down to the river to go for a swim. Smiling as she swung their laced fingers together, he said, "It's not that cold. Besides, there's nothing for you to worry about. If you get too cold, you have me to warm you up."

Santana snorted, wiggling her eyebrows at him. "Oh, is that so? Just how are you gonna do that, Mr. Magical Temperature Control?"

"It is," Sam laughed. "Oh you know how." He wiggled his brows again and looked down at his crotch area] "I have a magic tool."

"Oh, do you? Guess what, Mr. Magic, cold water's gonna shrink that right up," Santana snickered, giving him a little hip check playfully.

"Uh huh…" Sam smirked, again wiggling his brows at Santana. "Nah, I have the magic penis. Mine don't shrink in cold water. It grows."

"Oh, magic as in, I say abracabra, and it disappears?" Santana snorted at her own joke.

"Not funny, Tana." Sam rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Aw, so sensitive…in so many ways," Santana grinned, giving him a little nudge again, and then her eyes widened and she gave an ear splitting shriek, throwing herself behind Sam and practically crawling up his back like a koala bear. " OH MY GOD!"

Sam rolled his eyes again, shaking his head. He didn't have time to make a retort. He heard Santana screaming and then she was cowering behind him. Before Sam could react, a skunk sprayed in their general direction and left the scene.

"TANA! You shouldn't have done that, now we're going to stink for day."

"IT WAS A SKUNK!" Still clinging to his back, Santana sounded rather like Antonia in her near hysteria. She wrapped her arms around Sam's waist, clutching onto his shirt. "Do you think it was rabid?!"

"That's why you don't scream! When you scream or make sudden movements, you scare it and it sprays." He made a face at her, disgusted. "It's wild, Tana, what do you think? Now come on, we gotta try to get this stench off our bodies." He took her hand and started to drag her back towards the cabin. " I can't believe we got sprayed…damn!"

"Well excuse me, Ranger Rick, I've never seen a skunk before, how am I supposed to know that?" she snapped. She clung to his hand, her head swiveling suspiciously for any further creature encounters. She was practically stepping on his feet to stay close to him. " I thought we were going to the creek, we can wash it off there…" she sniffed him, making a face. "It's only on you anyway."

"We can't wash it off at the river, Tana. I reek and it's going to stick on me if I don't get rid of the smell…fast!" Sam was pissed. Today was supposed to be a good day, instead, he who was innocent in all of this, got sprayed by a skunk. "Now stop stepping on my toes and walk normally. Nothing is going to get to you. The spray made sure nothing will come at us."

"Well get some soap then, jeez. It's not like you got bit," Santana rolled her eyes, shooting him an irritated look and dropping his hand. "Why are you being so pissy? So you take a shower, usually you're all for that."

"I'd like to see how you'd react if you got sprayed. You really think that soap and water will do the trick?" Sam scoffed, getting even more annoyed by the second. When she let go of his hand, he folded his arms and stopped walking. "Really? You're going to get mad at me for your foolish mistake. That's crazy and you know it."

"Oh, so now I'm foolish? I'M foolish?! You're making a huge deal out of this, you're the big outdoors guy, if you know so much about what I'm supposed to be doing in the woods, you should have made me an itinerary and Woods for Dummies guide, since you obviously think I am one!" Santana was now pissed too and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring. "I'm not mad at you because of me, I'm mad at you because you're being an ass over me not knowing something I had no way of knowing. Any normal person would obviously get scared of anything that could shoot something so rank out its ass!"

"Yes, you! Foolish! It is a huge deal when I smell this bad. You just don't understand anything do you? Maybe I should have made you that manual. This is ridiculous. You should have used common sense."

Sam was too angry and he couldn't hold his tongue when he was in this state. He would let his emotions get away with him and this was a prime example.

"I'm not being an ass to you over nothing, you did this and I have to pay because of it. Well, normal people wouldn't scream when a skunk approach. They stay quiet! Come on, don't act like I'm the wrong one here. You're the one who's wrong."

For Santana, this was like a slap in the face. The last time someone spoke to her like this was her ex, Kyle, and his face flashed briefly into her mind almost before she could register it. Her hands balling into fists, her face burning, she snapped back at him.

"Well if I'm so foolish and ridiculous and abnormal you can fucking forget any more sex this weekend. I hope your balls shrivel into confetti shreds."

Turning her back on him, she started to stalk off, tripping and almost falling in the process, but picking herself up with as much dignity as she could muster, head held high.

Sam was too angry at this point, he had always been careful when it came to being out in the wilderness. This was a nightmare. The smell was making him gag and Santana being pissed at him was not helping matters at all.

"Fine, no sex. Don't worry about my balls, they'll be fine. They've been fine for the past few years!" he shouted after her. "Where are you going anyway?"

Seeing her stumbling a little made him laugh and cooled down his anger a little. He couldn't let her walk away mad, so he followed her. "You do know that there are bears and snakes in here right? You sure you want to go out on your own?"

Santana ignored him, not wanting to acknowledge that she actually had no idea where she was going. Her back stiffened at the mention of snakes and bears, and her heart started to pound, but she didn't stop walking, not wanting to talk to him or make him think she couldn't handle herself.

Sam could see that Santana was still mad. He didn't know how to react to her when she was this way. He couldn't possibly push her to go back to the cabin. Hell, he shouldn't even be touching her at the moment.

"So you're not going to talk to me now? You'd rather stay mad and get eaten by a bear… You're one brave soul Santana Lopez."

Santana still didn't want to acknowledge his presence. She kept stalking forward, jaw set, taking long strides, but she was watching for bears out the corner of her eyes. When a spiderweb suddenly smacked her across the face from the trees, Santana hollered aloud again, frantically clawing at the sides of her hair and scrubbing at her face.

"OH GOD there better not be a spider on me!"

Sam couldn't help but laugh at that as he caught up to her.

" Baby, relax. Nothing's on you." He helped to get the web off her face and hair as he spoke. "At least I hope so. I don't know for sure. You could have a spider hiding in your hair. I heard they can grow a nest in there."

Santana was still almost whimpering as Sam removed the spiderwebs. Eyes widening at his mention of a spider in her hair, she ran her fingers frantically through it. "I need to shower RIGHT NOW."

Sam snickered internally. That had worked like a charm. "Okay, let's go back to the cabin."

He grabbed a hold of her hand, lacing their fingers and walked back towards the cabin. When they got back, he went to see if his uncle had the supplies that he needed. "Oh thank god," he sighed, grabbing the tomato juice bottles with him. "This is going to save my life and your nose."

Santana was too freaked out at the thought of the spider in her hair to protest Sam holding her hand. If anything she squeezed it tighter. Inside the cabin, she looked at the tomato juice bottles blankly, not having any idea why Sam would use them. "Great, so now you smell like moldy pizza?"

Santana's remark had him laughing. "I will not smell like moldy pizza. But then again, I can't be too sure. I've never been sprayed before." He shook his head and moved towards the kitchen. "Now come on, you shower first and then I'm going to fill the tub with tomato juice."

By the time Santana finished her shower, she was in a better mood, enough so that as she walked out, hair damp down her back, clad in towel, she was able to tease. "Can I watch this shower? Do you possibly need assistance?"

He smiled at her as he was sitting in the tub, tomato juice freshly poured. "Don't think I need any, but if you feel like having a refreshing tomato juice bath, you could join me."

Santana smirked back at him, then sat on the closed toilet seat, still wrapped in a towel. "How about I just keep you company? I'll even sing the rubber ducky song."

Sam sighed, pouting a little even. "That's fine… But I don't need the rubber ducky song. Worse song ever in my book."

Santana smiled, stretching one leg out for his viewing pleasure, propping it on the tub's ledge. "I can serenade you with something else." She thought for a minute, then started to sing. "You're my backbone, you're my cornerstone, you're my crutch when my legs stop moving, you're my head start, you're my rugged heart, you're the post that I've always needed, like a drum baby don't stop beating, like a drum baby don't stop beating, like a drum my heart never stops beating for you…"

Sam's eyes landed on the very sexy view of her legs. He licked his lips and then chided himself for acting like horny teenager. "Okay… " He nodded, closing his eyes as she sang to him. His heart melting at every word.

Santana crossed her other leg slowly over the first, her towel rising up high on her thighs as she finished the song. "For you, for you, baby I'm not moving on, I'll love you long after you're gone, for you, for you, you will never sleep alone…and long after you're gone, gone, gone…" she reached forward and ran her hand through his hair.

Sam relaxed, letting the sweet sound of Santana's voice lull him to sleep. He was slowly drifting off, but then he felt her fingers running through his scalp and opened his eyes. "I love you," he told her above a whisper, looking at her with so much love.

Santana's voice drifted off, and she smiled gently, her fingers stilling in his hair. "Love you. Now hurry up and get out so we can still go have fun."

Sam chuckled, only Santana would demand something when he was trying to be romantic. "You're a romance ruiner, you know that. Give me a few more minutes, I need to really soak in here."

"Hm. Maybe you need added inspiration." Slowly Santana stood, dropping the towel, and stretched, taking her time backing out of the room. "See you later."

An eyebrow rose, he swallowed loudly seeing Santana buck naked. "Hey! That's not fair… " he grumbled, looked at the water and growled. "Oh fuck it…"

After draining the tub, he took a quick shower and hurriedly went back to the room. "I'm done. Can you check to see if I smell though?"

Santana turned slowly, giving him a wicked smile, and walked to him with exaggerated hip thrusts. Pressing her body close into his, she buried her nose in his neck as her arms wrapped around his waist. "Seems good to me."

Sam gulped, his eyes drifting close. "Damn…" he whispered, feeling her body pressing against his. "Shit… You smell good."

Santana pressed a little closer, kissing his neck and giving it a light nip, before slowly backing out of his arms, remaining at arm's length. "Help me get dressed before we go?" She was definitely enjoying this.

Sam nodded, groaning. "O-okay… " But he couldn't move it seemed, his muscles refused to work.

Santana kissed him again, stretching up to whisper into his ear. "Help me out and maybe you can help me undress at the river. I'll need you to keep me warm."

"Now you're just being mean," Sam chided, but he was smiling. He did it anyway, helping her up as he did. "I helped you, so now I'm holding you to your promise."

"Oh, I'll keep it, trust me." Santana squeezed his ass playfully before slipping her hand back into his. "If you really want to make sure this walk goes better, you should give me a piggyback. Then I'll be nice and protected from icky crawly and stinky things."

"Good." Sam laughed when she squeezed his ass. "You like my junk in the trunk huh? Alright, alright, I'll protect you. So do you want the piggyback now or after we leave the cabin?"

"Oh hells yeah. Shake shake shake, shake that booty!" Santana laughed back, then came around behind Sam, hooking her arms around his neck. "Now. Bend and squat."

Sam chuckled again, shaking his head. He playfully let out a strangled groan. "You're strangling me. God, you're so violent." He ignored her comment with a playful eye roll and bend down before looping his forearm around the back of her knees, lifting her up. "You ready for our next adventure?"

Adjusting herself on his back, Santana nodded, playfully pretending to whip him with imaginary reins. "And….go!"

88


	15. Chapter 15

Santana's weekend with Sam had been exactly what they both needed. Despite their initial bickering, Santana's lack of prowess in the woods, and the misunderstandings back and forth at the start, she had thoroughly enjoyed herself once they worked through it, and she had come to feel even closer to Sam. Spending time with him without an agenda or without any needed tasks or responsibilities, without the distraction of small children and their needs, Santana had found herself falling even more deeply in love with him and the gentle, loving person that he truly was. She knew, even without him telling her, that he loved her, that he genuinely thought she was an amazing person, a beautiful, intelligent, and charming woman, a loving and dedicated mother. Santana didn't exactly have a low opinion of herself, but it was something else entirely to hear Sam tell her so with such sincerity, and it deeply touched her heart.

Still, all good things had to come to an end, and as she and Sam drove to pick up the children from their respective weekend destinations, she was looking forward to seeing them both and hearing about what they had been doing as well. She and Sam picked up Stevie first, and after Santana hugged and kissed him hello, thanking Sam's uncle for watching him, she listened to his description of his weekend and smiled in the rearview mirror back at him, glad he had had a good time. She had a feeling that her reunion with Antonia would be considerably more dramatic, which was why she had put her off for last.

She wasn't off in her suspicion. As she, Stevie, and Sam went to her mother's front door and knocked, waiting for Maribel Lopez to answer, Santana smiled to herself, certain that her daughter was going to be wildly excited to see her. Maribel managed by some miracle to get to the door first. She was a small woman, shorter and nearly as slim as Santana in build, and she still had long hair and youthful skin, nearly as attractive in appearance as her daughter. She smiled warmly when she looked at Santana, pulling her into a hug and kissing her cheek, before holding her back at arms' length to look her over.

"Oh, yes, I can see you are indeed well rested, mija, or perhaps it was not so much rest as another more physical activity you were partaking in that has you look so well," she smirked at her, even as Santana flushed slightly, throwing back a glance at Stevie to make sure he didn't understand the implication.

"Mami, please, I knows you have a weird thing about me and my "physical" life, but it's gross and wrong for moms to even want to think about that, so, can we not?"

"What are you talking about, mija?" Maribel said with mock innocence, blinking. "What could be wrong with talking about hiking and swimming? Surely you did much of this in the woods?"

Santana rolled her eyes at her, exchanging a look with Sam, as she announced to him, "That's my mami for you. If you think I'm bad, spend a day with her and you'll see how easy you get off."

"I wouldn't be opposed to that, handsome as this young man is," Maribel smiled in Sam's direction, holding her hand out for Sam to shake. "My daughter, so rude, brings people to my doorstep and does not say one word of introduction. I am Maribel Lopez, but none of that Ms. Lopez stuff, I am not yet old. You can call me Maribel or Mari…and who is this good looking little fellow?"

She bent towards Stevie, giving him a warm smile, and held out her hand for him to shake too. "I have heard much about the lovely little boy that Santana is so happy to live with. I am so happy to meet you too."

"MAMIIIIII DADDY SAMMYYYY MAMIIIII YOU ARE HOME YOU ARE HOME YOU ARE HOME!" came a screech from three rooms away, and then the sound of tiny pounding feet as Antonia raced through the house, barely registering when she banged her shin on the coffee table. With another excited whoop, she threw herself bodily at Santana, barely seeming to notice she practically shoved Maribel out of the way to get to her, and wrapped her arms around her hips, clinging to her tightly. "Mamiiiiiiii! I missed you so much, I didn't think you were never never never gonna come get me!"

"Oh, you do not like being with your abuela then, is that it?" Maribel laughed, shaking her head as Santana picked Antonia up onto her hip, giving her a hug and kiss.

"No, I do, 'buela, but I like being with my mami and daddy Sammy best," Antonia announced. Still wiggling on Santana's hip, she reached out for Sam too, wanting him to take her next. "We had fun, and we made as super awesome surprise plan only I can't even tell you because it's a surprise!"

The weekend had gone very well much to Sam's surprise. He had been anticipating something to go wrong with the kids. One of them to call and pretend to be sick or be sick for real and they'd have to leave their little haven to pick them up and nurse them back to health. However, none of those things had gone down. The kids hadn't bothered them at all and because of this, they were able to connect.

They talked, did some outdoors activities, Sam made sure that it was nothing too out there, not wanting the incident with the skunk or God forbid something much worse, to happen again. They took baths, kissed and simply enjoyed being young and in love. He'd fallen even deeper in love with Santana this weekend. Yes, he was sprayed by a skunk, but those things didn't matter. What mattered was being able to connect with his girlfriend, and thought that he had managed to do that in the past two days.

As much as he loved the kids, they truly needed this time to simply bond, without any distractions, which they got to do. But now, the fun was over. They had to go back to real life and responsibilities. He had to admit that he really missed Stevie. The little guy was his whole world, how could he not?

Stevie jumped into his brother's arm and gave him a big ole hug once Sam got to the door. "Sammy! I've missed you."

Sam's smile was a mile wide. He hugged his brother closely, spinning him around a few times. "I've missed you too, buddy. Have you been a good boy this weekend?"

Stevie nodded eagerly, "I have! I even helped to make pancakes this morning. It was really yummy, Sammy."

Sam's heart melted. The grin on his brother's face always made him smile. He was happy that Stevie was happy. This was what his parents wanted, for them both to be happy. "Is that so? Well then, I will just have to make sure that you make me some one of these days…."

"I'll do it. But you gotta help me though. It's not safe for a child to be on the stove alone. Safety always comes first, right uncle Jared?" Stevie asked, a proud smile was etched on his face.

The uncle nodded, telling the little boy to remember that. He then ruffled Stevie's hair, said his goodbyes and went back into the house once Sam and Stevie were back in the car.

They got caught up in the car. Sam wanted to know everything that Stevie did with their uncle this weekend and so did Stevie. His little brother had so many different questions for him and Santana. He told him the truth…for the most parts. Leaving out the sexual parts of the trip, of course. That was how the rest of the ride went.

Back at Santana's mother's home, he was left speechless at the banter between the two women. He looked at Stevie who was looking around the house with wonder in his eyes and ruffled his hair, letting the two women talk. When Maribel introduced herself, he smiled, taking her hand and shaking it, while he returned the introduction. "Hello, Maribel. It's very nice to meet you. I've heard so many good things about you."

"I'm Stevie," Stevie answered, proudly. He shook the older woman's hand and continued to say, "I like your house. It's very nice. I like you too. You look a lot like Santana. Do you bake cookies? I like cookies…"

Sam who was now, hugging Santana with one arm, ruffled his brother's hair yet again, "You have to excuse my little brother, Maribel. He's got a sweet tooth on him."

"I don't understand what's so sweet about my tooth." Stevie shrugged his shoulders and frowned. Being 5, he didn't quite understand the saying.

"It means that you like sweet things, Stevie." Sam shook his head, getting out of the way at just the right time when Toni came in and jump right up into Santana's arms. "There's my girl, and how was your weekend, little lady? I bet you had lot of fun."

He picked her up when she gestured for it and kissed her on the cheek. "So what's this surprise you are talking about?"

"Oooh, does it have cookies?!" Stevie piped in with a grin, his stomach already rumbling for something sweet.

"Good things? About me? What a surprise, I did not know this daughter of mine could mention my name without insults being attached to it," Maribel feigned surprise, smiling back at Sam after shooting a smirk towards Santana. She laughed in response to Stevie, giving him a wide smile as she patted his shoulder. "Oh yes, carina, I certainly do bake cookies. Antonita and I baked them last night, would you like to come in and have some?" To Sam and Santana she added, "I can make you some coffee, if you would like."

"I had a lot of fun but I'm gonna have even more, much funner fun now!" Antonia announced, wrapping her arms around Sam's neck. "It's a super awesome surprise. It's gonna be so cool and I'm gonna be so pretty. 'Cause I get to be a super pretty b-"

"Shhh, ninita, it's a surprise, remember?" Maribel put her fingers against Antonia's lips, silencing her. "Shhh."

"Oh, yeah," Antonia remembered, covering her mouth. "I rememberered!"

"Ooh, cookie!" Stevie's eyes lit up, his smile was so bright. He almost clapped in excitement, but that would make him foolish, so he didn't. "Thank you. I would like some." He answered politely.

"I'll have some cookies if Toni would let me." Sam's answer was simple, since he knew that Toni liked having his attention. He felt lucky that Stevie was currently too busy worrying about getting those cookies in his stomach. Normally, he would get jealous when Sam showed too much attention to Toni. "And yes, she did say good things about you. Only good thing." He looked at Santana lovingly before going back to his conversation with Toni. "Oh I bet it's going to be awesome. I can't wait to see what this surprise it."

Stevie, who really wasn't paying attention to the Toni, tugged on Santana's hand and asked, "Would you like some cookies too, Tana? You can come sit next to me and we can eat cookies together, okay…"

"You are very welcome, ninito." Maribel laughed, patting Stevie again as she turned to open the door for them to come through. "What a surprise, my child must be getting soft in her old age." She smirked again at Santana, who stuck her tongue out at her like a child herself while letting Stevie take her hand.

"Of course I will. I like the sound of that, buddy."

"I'll let you," Toni said grandly to Sam, a s though she were doing him a tremendous favor. "But I wanna sit with you. And it's gonna be a super awesome super pretty good good good surprise!"

Usually, she too would be jealous of Stevie sitting with her mother, but she's preoccupied with her excitement over her surprise, the adults' return, and Sam giving her attention.

Stevie lit up, he liked when Santana would sit with him. Not that Sammy never did, but it was different when Santana did. She always took the time to talk to him. She genuinely wanted to get to know him unlike a lot of other adults. "Okay." He nodded.

Sam looked back at his brother gauging his reaction, but the little guy was too busy talking to Santana and holding her hand, so he suspected that he was not going to be too bothered, if at all, when he sat with Toni. "I'll sit with you, Toni. But you gotta let me in on your surprise. I want to know what it is." He was curious and anxious now, and he really, really wanted to know.

As Maribel ushered them into the kitchen, beginning to get out the tin of cookies and setting them on a tray, retrieving napkins and plates as well, Santana sat with Stevie, still holding his hand. "Tell me what kind of cookies you like best. Do you like to dip them in milk, or do you like to make sandwiches out of them with peanut butter or icing? Toni likes to take Oreos, scrape out the cream, and then give me the cookie part. How do you eat them?"

"I wanna tell you but 'Buela said I gotta wait," Antonia told him. Sitting in his lap at the table, she squirmed, looking frequently at her grandmother. "Can't I do it now, 'Buela? Please please please?"

Maribel gave a rather suspicious smile then, giving her a nod. "Sure, mi corazon. Go get ready."

"Yayyyyy!" Antonia jumped off Sam's lap and darted out of the room.

Stevie let Santana lead them both to the kitchen, he sat down next to her, his hand still clasp with hers. He felt safe like this, felt like he was special and loved. Sammy did that, he made him feel loved and safe, but it was different getting it from someone else. "I like all kinds of cookies. My favorite is chocolate chip and sometimes, I like to dip em with hot chocolate. Sammy makes them for me if I'm being extra good and put marshmallow in them. Lately, I haven't asked for hot chocolate. Maybe I will when we get home. Did I tell you that I made pancakes today? It was big and so delicious. Uncle Jared said I did a great job."

Sam on the other hand had Toni sitting on his lap. She was asking for permission to tell him about this surprise, and he had to admit that he was really looking forward to hearing it. "Okay, since you got the permission, you can tell me now." He told her as she cheered happily.

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Santana nodded her approval, giving Stevie a warm smile. "Hot chocolate. Maybe my mami will make us some."

"Sure, sweetheart," Maribel smiled at Stevie. "It sounds like you have been extra good at your uncle's house, so that does deserve some hot chocolate."

She went to get it ready, while Santana lifted her head in dawning suspicion towards the direction her daughter disappeared in. Narrowing her eyes at her mother, she asked, "Mami, what exactly is this big surprise she's so hyped up about?"

"Oh, I wouldn't take away from letting her give the big reveal," Maribel couldn't make herself look innocent, despite her efforts. "Let her have her spotlight."

Just then, Antonia traipsed back into the kitchen, a white shawl clumsily wrapped around her head and hanging crookedly down her back. She was also wrapped up in a white sheet which trailed behind her, and she tried to hold it up in both hands, tripping frequently as she sang loudly, her voice high and squeaky. As much as Santana adored her daughter, she had to admit, she sounded like a chipmunk when she sang.

"Here comes the bride! Here comes the bride! Here come the bride…'Buela, I don't know the rest of the song, how does it go?"

Maribel wasn't even trying to stop her huge grin as she clapped for her granddaughter. "Sweetheart, just sing it how you think it should go, remember?"

"Oh okay…um….here comes the bride….mami and Daddy Sammy sitting in a tree, k-s-i-s-n-g-g! First comes love, then comes marriage, then I get to wear a super pretty flower girl dress, here comes the bride!"

Santana's eyes about popped, and her mouth dropped open as she stared, more than a little taken aback, at her daughter. This was definitely her mother's work. Antonia took this to be a compliment and beamed.

"Isn't this a super awesome surprise, Mami? It's for you!"

"I can have some now?" Stevie's eyes went wide. He was so used to just being around men, this new attention that he was getting from Maribel and Santana felt foreign and good. "Thank you…" He hugged the two women and then sat back down.

Sam on the other hand, was curiously waiting for Toni to come back. When she did, he couldn't stop laughing. She was practically covered in white and she was singing her own version of the wedding march. It didn't freak him out though because he knew that he would want to marry Santana someday. "So this is our surprise?" He asked with a hint of laughter. "That's a nice surprise, Toni. I think you surprised your mama speechless."

He looked back at Santana's face and busted out laughing. His girlfriend looked like she was frozen and her jaw was practically hanging down to the floor.

Santana would have found it funny that Stevie seemed oblivious to Antonia, hot chocolate that Maribel had just set down in front of him being his bigger priority. She continued to stare at her daughter, blinking rapidly, before turning to fix a glare at her mother that was almost homicidal in nature. Maribel just smiled back at her, repeating Antonia's question.

"What, mija? Don't you like your daughter's special surprise?"

When Sam laughed, Antonia's face fell, and she pouted, crossing her arms over her chest and stamping her foot. She tripped again and almost fell when she stamped, her lower lip sticking out as she looked between Sam and Santana in annoyance.

"You are laughing at me! It was a good surprise!"

"Um…I think Sam is laughing because he's so surprised," Santana said hurriedly, trying to head off a tantrum. "It was…definitely a surprise. You look…very pretty." To her mother, much more harshly, she said, "It would have been VERY NICE though if she could come up with a surprise ALL ON HER OWN WITHOUT ANY INTERFERENCE FROM PEOPLE WITH SMART HINDQUARTERS." Since she couldn't say ass without Antonia repeating it.

Stevie was busy enjoying his hot chocolate, not really paying much attention to what was going on in his surrounding. He only looked up when he heard his brother laughing. Her frowned, making a face when he saw Toni dressed almost like a ghost. He couldn't help himself, he tugged on Santana's hand and asked, "Why is Toni dressed like a ghost?" He could tell that she was getting mad, so he picked up a cookie and presented it to her, "I have a cookie. Would you like one?"

Sam stopped laughing seeing that Toni was about to throw a fit. He stood up and went to her, picking her up, then sitting down again so that she could sit on his lap. "I wasn't laughing at you. I was laughing at your mama. She looked like her jaw was going to hit the floor." He chuckled, "You look very beautiful though and I love the song that you sang. Can you sing it again?"

"Oh, Antonita thought it was a good idea," Maribel said back to Santana, still smirking. She leaned back against the counter, watching the drama unfold with obvious amusement.

"I am not a ghost!" Antonia exploded, stomping her foot again and glaring at Stevie. "I am a very very beautiful bride! Just like Mami is gonna be!"

Santana took the cookie from Stevie and thanked him, patting his head, and now she too was trying not to laugh. It was hard not to, even if she really didn't want to. Antonia looked so cute and so silly and was so peeved, and even if her mother was a nosy, meddling tease, it was sort of funny. Sort of.

Somewhat mollified, Antonia leaned back into Sam's chest, nodding eagerly. "Uh huh. Only I forgot the words again. I'll make up new ones. Here comes the bride! The bride is wearing a pretty white dress! She looks so pretty and she's sitting in a tree! And I don't know what the groom wears but he is pretty too! And he is my daddy Sammy and here comes the bride!" She beams up at him expectantly, waiting for his applause. "She is too a ghost. I don't know any bride that wear that to a wedding." Stevie whispered to himself, then went back to eating his cookies, not even paying attention to all the noise in the room.

Sam, trying to make amends with his little girl, sat and clenched his jaw, as he tried not to laugh at the lyrics. When she was done, he drowned out his snorts with the sounds of his loud clapping. "Bravo, Toni. You did very well. That song was…" He pinched his lips together for a moment to get himself together, "It was very unique." Then he kissed, her hair before another snort could escape.

Santana hurriedly stuffed her mouth with a cookie so a snort of laughter wouldn't escape. She stared down at her plate, not daring to even look at Antonia or Sam because she knew if she did, she would burst out into hysterical laughter.

Sitting up proudly in Sam's lap, Antonia continued to grin proudly, dimples showing in her cheek. Her "veil" slipped off entirely as she hugged Sam, then reached for a cookie for herself. "Thank you! That's me. I'm you-eek." She didn't have a clue what that meant, but she liked the sound of it.

Maribel being Maribel, she couldn't resist nosing in some more as she sat back down with the others. "Excellent job, mi nieta, you were such a wonderful surprise! Now Sam, I understand that you coach the children's t-ball, and you play baseball yourself as well. Tell me, how will this work when your season starts? Do you need to travel?"

Sam, somehow by some miracle was able to not laugh. Toni was so damn adorable with those lyrics that didn't even rhyme and to top that off, her costume was starting to fall apart. "That's right, that's you, Princess." He smirked, his lips twitching, trying as he tried not to bust out in laughter.

He looked up at Maribel a few seconds later, smiled politely and answered her question. "I haven't been scouted yet, but my agent is in talks with the New York Yankees, so we'll just have to see about the rest later. I'm not getting ahead of myself yet."

He wasn't trying to be rude at all, but he wanted the kids to know first if they had to move. He didn't want to scare Toni with such a big news quite yet.

"Ooh, I like that. I'm a princess. Princess Antonia Cristina Lopez! I'm fancy," Antonia gave a little bounce of pleasure, and the towel totally slipped off her head. Ignoring this, she reached for a second cookie. "Oooh you know what would be cool? A crown for me made of cookies. So I can eat it."

Santana couldn't help it. She burst out laughing and quickly had to turn it into a coughing fit. Maribel smirked at her, still focused on Sam. "That's very nice. I am sure you will do well and be sought after."

 **Stevie, who was engrossed by the cookies and hot chocolate earlier, looked up when he heard Toni talking about a crown cookie. "Ooh… Can I have one? But can I have one made to look like a car? I love cars…" Then, just like that, he lowered his head and went back to eating his cookies.**

 **Sam nodded at Maribel and then focused on Toni, "You are a princess. You're my princess…" He smiled, hugging her close. "You can both get cookies. We'll make one in a shape of a crown for Toni and a car one for Stevie."**

 **Stevie's head jerked up, his eyes wide as saucers and lips curled up into a smile. "Really? That's cool, Sammy! Thank you!" He briefly caught a glance of Toni in her disheveled state, and started chuckling, "Your wedding dress fell apart."**

 **"You can't have a car cookie. That's just silly," Antonia informed him, her mouth full of cookie. "You couldn't even drive it. And you would break it with your hiney when you sit on it." She giggled, thinking of this. "Hiney cookie breaker!"**

 **"Toni," Santana reproved her mildly, but she was smiling too. "Sam said he can make it, I think he just means a cookie shaped like a car. He's not making you a cookie that you can wear like a crown either, you know."**

 **"Aw, really?" Antonia was disappointed by this, looking up at Sam. "Is she right? 'Cause you said I'm a princess."**

 **When Stevie laughed at her, she scowled at him, putting her hands on her hips and sitting upright in Sam's lap. "It did not! That is the thing that goes on my head. I'm still wearing my dress." Sort of. The sheet was basically around her waist now, slipping off.**

"I don't want a car that I can drive. I want one that I can eat. Who wants to drive a cookie anyway?" Stevie rolled his eyes. He didn't understand why Toni didn't get what he was talking about. Probably because she was a girl. Girls never understand things. "It is too…"

"Stevie, stop taunting her…" Sam said, shaking his head.

Stevie made a grumbling sound then focused on his cookies.

"I don't think I would be able to make a crown cookie that you can wear, Toni. Besides, you wouldn't want to put it on. It will only attract ants. Do you want ants to crawl in your head?"

"You do. Hiney breaker on the cookie," Antonia giggled again, as Santana gave her a look.

"Toni. Settle. No making fun. Or hiney talk while eating."

Antonia screwed up her face, wrinkling up her nose and shaking her head. "Ewwww I don't want nasty ants in my head! I don't want it no more."

"Some day soon, all of you will have to come for dinner," Maribel invited, distracting the children. "It will be a nice night as a family."

"Whatever…" Stevie mumbled, made a face at Toni and rolled his eyes.

Sam, giving up on the kids getting along, simply shook his head. He smiled up at Maribel and nodded, "That would be nice… I'm sure you're a great cook too."

"I'm finished!" Stevie announced once he had polished off his cookies and hot chocolate.

As Toni too finished eating, jumping off Sam's lap and losing the last of her costume in the process, Santana stood and helped her mother clear and clean. Then, giving her a hug of thanks and smiling as her mother whispered into her ear that Sam was a keeper, she took Stevie's hand in one of hers and Toni's in the other, loading them up into the car with Sam. Maribel was right about one thing; to Santana, they really did feel already like a family.


	16. Chapter 16

Sam couldn't wipe the smile on his face. He couldn't believe what just happened. His agent called to tell him that everything was set. He was now a Yankee with a startup salary of 2 million dollars! He was so excited that he let out a whoop and fist pump the air. This was great news and one that he couldn't wait to share with Santana. After hanging up, he went back into the kitchen, wrapped his arms around Santana and kissed her softly.

"That was my agent," he began to say, "He has some really bad news for me…"

He was in a playful mood, so he dropped his head and pretended to be sad. "Looks like our home is going to be abandoned for a while." He looked back up, "Because we're going to New York City! I'm a Yankee, babe! We're moving to New York!"

Santana, who had been loading the dishwasher after making Antonia a bed time cup of milk and some crackers, because it was getting dark out and near her time to settle for sleep. She looked up, eyebrows raised, when she heard Sam whooping, thinking that he was probably wrestling the kids and stirring them up so they'd be even harder to get to sleep. When he came up to her, grinning, and hugged and kissed her, she was a bit confused, but waited for an explanation. His sad act really did have her concerned for a moment, and it took a few more seconds for his second statement to sink in. Then she whooped too, giving a little hop of excitement and clapping her hands for him before throwing her arms around his neck, lifting her feet off the ground.

"Oh my god, that's so amazing! I'm so damn proud of you, babe! You're so awesome!" And then a new thought came. "How rich are we now?!"

Sam, feeling excited, lifted Santana up and spun her around. "We're moving to New York, babe, we're moving to New York!" He announced excitedly. Feeling a little dizzy from all the spinning, he stopped his actions and kissed Santana again. Her question had him smiling. He answered her with a big grin, "We are 2 million dollars rich. You are going to be spoiled. I will spoil the kids and you too."

Santana laughed, her arms tightening around Sam's neck, giddy with excitement and exhilaration. She kissed him again, wrapping her legs around his waist, and then slapped his ass, unable to stop her breathless laughing. "God…two million dollars, you are fucking kidding me, no way! Two million dollars! God, I used to stress out about paying for Toni's shoes when she outgrew them, and rent, and the dentist and doctor…now you're getting two million dollars in one YEAR?!" She kissed Sam again, fast, urgent, still laughing into it.

Hearing all the commotion going on, Antonia wandered into the kitchen, standing in the doorway with wide eyes. She was wearing pajamas with My Little Pony across the chest, and she stared at Sam with some apprehension. "What's goin' on? Do I not gotta have bed time tonight? 'Cause you are very loud and sound scary, so I should probably watch TV."

"I'm not kidding. We're that rich!" Sam laughed. He loved the reaction that he was getting from Santana and knowing that they no longer had to worry about money was amazing. "You don't ever have to worry about that anymore. I'm here now and I will take care of you and Toni." He promised, returning her kiss.

As if Toni knew that they were talking about her, she came in a few short seconds later. He swooped the little girl up and held her against him. "I'm sorry, Princess. Mommy and I were talking…" He stopped before he could go further, not knowing if he should break the news to Toni right then. Then, he looked at Tana and said, "Babe, you want to tell Toni what's going on?"

Stevie was just starting to drift off when he heard a commotion coming from the kitchen. He grumbled and ran out of his room to check out what was going on. Sammy, Santana and Toni were all in the kitchen. "Hey. What's going on?" He asked, rubbing his eyes. "Why is everyone in here? Are you eating cookies without me?"

Antonia frowned, starting to get worried at the mention of news. Her eyes darted between Sam and Santana, and she clutched Sam around the neck, her expression apprehensive. "Tell Toni! Mami, tell me! What is it, is it bad?"

As Stevie came into the kitchen as well, Santana smiled down at him, reaching to pull her against her side. With her arm around him, she reached for Antonia's hand as well, giving it a little squeeze as she tried to calm her voice enough to explain.

"Your brother, Stevie, and your daddy, Antonia, is so talented and so amazing that he gets to play baseball for really important people who know just how good he is, and they're going to pay him a lot of money to play for them. We were just really excited." She paused, then said more carefully, knowing this part might not go over as well, "So he has to move to New York so he can."

Antonia's face crumpled, and she buried her face in Sam's neck, giving a cry of genuine grief. "Nooooo! No, Mami, I don't want him to leave me! No! You are mean to go away!"

"Hey, hey, no, no, it's okay," Santana said hurriedly, moving her hand to Antonia's back and rubbing it. "No, baby, we're moving with him. We're moving too. He's not leaving us behind."

Slightly mollified, Antonia lifted her head, regarding her mother a little warily before mumbling, "Oh…oh, okay."

Stevie was still confused, his brother wasn't explaining things to him, so when Santana pulled him to stand close to her, he looked at his brother and asked, "What's going on, Sammy?"

Sam let Santana take the reigns. He would have ended up screwing it up and making Toni cry or something. That was something he didn't ever want to do. "Wait for Santana to explain okay, buddy?" He smiled at his little brother and ruffled his hair.

Stevie than listened with a frown. He got his answers a few minutes later and started to smile. "We're moving to New York? Are you going to play baseball in New York, Sammy?" Feeling excited, he let go of Santana to hug his brother's legs. "I knew you could do it!"

"Thank you, buddy." Sam was smiling on for Stevie, but his heart broke for Toni. This was going to be another move for her. He knew how hard it was for her to adjust the first time. This one was going to be just as bad, if not worse. "Is my princess sad?" He asked, cupping the little girl's cheeks.

"That's right. Your brother is really awesome, isn't he, Stevie?" Santana reached to ruffle the boy's hair as he hugged Sam, smiling down at him. "We'll be able to get somewhere really nice, you can still have your own room and decorate it how you want."

"I do. I have the awesomest brother in the whole wide world." Stevie bragged. "Not many kids can say that their brother plays baseball. I can…"

She looked at her daughter with a little more concern, knowing how difficult major change was for her. But Sam was already addressing her, taking her face into his hands. She smiled slightly at the sight of Toni's little chipmunk cheeks, barely filling his hands, and watched, keeping one hand on Stevie.

Antonia nodded solemnly at Sam, her eyes dark and troubled, before she tried to burrow her face into him again. "I don't know New York. I like this house. I wanna stay here in this house. What about my purple room? What about my playhouse? What about 'Buela? I wanna stay here. I already moved. I like THIS house."

Sam's heart was breaking for his little girl. He felt guilty in a way because he was doing this to her. "Princess, I know you don't want to go. I know that I'm taking you away from your Abuela and your home here, but wouldn't you be happier being in New York with mommy, me and Stevie? We'd miss you terribly if you weren't there."

Sensing that Toni was really upset, Stevie piped in. "You get to have a bigger home, a bigger room with lots of toys. That's good you know. Most kids don't get that. We're lucky to have Sammy and Tana… Don't cry. It's sad…" He sighed. Although he was the first to pick on Toni, he really didn't like it when she was upset. It made him sad too.

"You do," Santana told him, but she was quieter, watching Sam and Santana. "You definitely do. And you're a pretty awesome brother too."

Antonia continued to frown worriedly, thinking this over. No, she didn't want to leave her mami or Sam or even Stevie. She gripped Sam tighter, as though someone might try to snatch her away, and her lower lip stuck out as she struggled between her desire to stay and her knowing how she couldn't.

It was Stevie's words that really made her think, though. It was good to have a big room with toys. And Stevie was even being nice to her. She rubbed at her eyes, reaching for Santana. She wanted both of them to hold her, even though that wasn't really possible, and Santana, understanding this without her saying it, stepped a little closer and petted her hair.

"Stevie and Sam are right, Antonita chicita. We really want you with us and you will love your new big room. Knowing your abuela, I'm certain she'll visit you lots and probably buy herself a second home up there or something, she misses her granddaughter way too much to let her get too far away. It's going to be good, you'll see. But you need to come get ready for bed now, both of you. We can talk and have question time tomorrow, but you need to be able to calm down and have good dreams tonight, so it's time to get tucked in."

Stevie could only offer Santana half a smile. He worried that Toni wouldn't want to go. If she didn't go that meant that their family couldn't be together. He didn't know when it happened, but after living together with Toni and Santana, he had grown to see them as a part of his family. Families always stay together, so he didn't want them to not be together because Toni was scared.

"Come on, Toni, it'll be fun. We'll get to go to a new school and make new friends. We'll go to all the different places with Sammy and Tana. It will be so much fun. I'll even protect you if you promise to go." Stevie tried urging. He yawned again, nodding at Santana's suggestion. "I am tired. I wanna go to bed."

Sam was so proud of Stevie. He was helping, instead of making things more difficult. He didn't know what Toni's answer was going to be, and for now, he wasn't going to push her for an answer. "Alright, let's get the two of you to bed. Come on buddy, we'll tuck you in first." With Toni still in his arm, he reached for his little brother's hand and together, they headed to Stevie's bedroom first.

Santana followed after them, wanting to help Sam tuck them in. She reached to take Antonia from Sam as they supervised Stevie getting into bed, setting her on the floor beside her. Antonia stayed close, but didn't clamor to be picked up again immediately. Santana came forward and smoothed Stevie's hair back from his forehead, kissing the spot revealed, and whispered in his ear.

"Thank you so much for being so nice to Toni, sweetheart. She's going to feel so much better with a wonderful boy like you looking out for her and helping her. You're a good boy and a brave boy and I'm so glad we can live with you."

She kissed his forehead again and then backed up for Sam to say good night, lifting Antonia to her hip.

Stevie was already half asleep when he was led back to his room. He rubbed his eyes as he was climbing into his bed and smiled at his brother, "Goodnight, Sammy. I love you. I can't wait to move to New York City with you."

Sam kissed his little brother on the forehead and replied, "I love you too, buddy. I'm glad you're excited. I know we're going to have a great time there."

Stevie nodded, smiling at Santana, "She's younger. I need to take care of her. Sammy says it's what older brothers do…" He nodded again, drifting off this time. Before he finally drift off, he said, "I love you, Tana…Goo-nigh."

"You can't take care of me, you're only little," Antonia informed him, but her tone is gentle for once. "Mami and Daddy Sammy are the ones who gotta take care of me."

Santana gave her an Eskimo kiss, smiling at her. "We take care of Stevie, but he's your big brother now, and he takes care of you too. That doesn't mean he's your boss, but it does mean he looks out for you."

Her heart melted when Stevie told her he loved her, and she said softly back to him, "Oh, I love you too, sweet boy. Good night."

As they backed out of the room, with Santana still carrying Antonia, Antonia didn't seem jealous of the affection Stevie just received from Santana so much as thoughtful. She sucked on her fingers lightly, looking up at her.

"Do you really love Stevie, Mami?"

"Yes, I do," Santana said to her calmly. She prepared for a fuss, but Antonia simply frowned as they entered the bedroom and Santana lay her on her bed.

"Do you love him more than me?"

"I love you both very much, but I love you both differently, because you are different people. I love Stevie like Stevie and I love my Toni like my Toni." Santana punctuated this with a tickle to Antonia's belly and then under her chin until she giggled. "So many worries in one little girl's head, do I have to tickle all those worries out?"

"Noooo! Mami, no!" Antonia giggled, but she let her tickle her, squirming.

Sam was a little taken aback by Stevie's words. He has never told anyone aside from him and their uncle Jared that he loved them. He had always suspected that he cared a lot about Santana, but this confession and coming so quickly was very much unexpected. Nevertheless, he was glad that his brother was adjusting and accepting of not only Santana but Toni as well.

"I love you, buddy…" He said gently, kissing his little brother on the forehead. Then, he pulled up the blanket, to cover Stevie up and left the room, following Toni and Santana.

He simply stood back and let Santana have her moment, loving the interaction between his girls. A smile crept up on his face when he thought of those words, his girls. Who would have thought that this was even a possibility a few months back? He had been contented with his life back then, but now, now he was truly happy.

"Alright, no more tickling. It's time to put my little princess to bed." He told them, stopping Santana from tickling Toni further. He kissed Toni on the forehead and whispered, "Goodnight, Toni. Daddy loves you."

"Ha. Daddy saved me from your tickle monster," Antonia said to Santana, still grinning. She reached up for Sam to hug her, and when he obeyed, leaned in to kiss his forehead back. She missed a little, getting closer to his eyebrow, then lay back down, yawning.

As they backed out of the room, switching on her nightlight, Santana reached for Sam's hand. She contained herself until they were in their own room and then wrapped herself around him, squeezing hard. "I am so damn happy. I can't believe any of this. Stevie loves me, he's sweet to Toni, Toni didn't throw a fit over me loving him, you are an amazing ball player and the best father and brother and boyfriend ever, and we're gonna be fucking RICH!" She laughed, stretching up to kiss him. "I can't even believe our life right now.

"He sure did." Sam smile before tucking Toni in again. He kissed her on the forehead one more time, then headed out of the room with Santana. They made sure that they didn't make any kind of noise until they were further away from the kids bedrooms. He smiled wide as he witnessed Santana's little cheer. "You know, you're going to wake the kids up if you don't stop that…" He teased her, wrapping his arms around her before placing a kiss on her lips. "I'm glad you're happy. That's all I want for you… I want to see that smile forever etched on your beautiful face and I'm glad that I could make it happen."

Santana kissed him back, sliding her hands down his back, and then squeezed his ass playfully, laughing aloud. "Oh, if I was gonna wake them up I'd find a more exciting way to try…I am happy, babe. So happy." She kissed him again, more deeply this time, reaching to twine her fingers through his hair and lightly scratching at his scalp. "I can't believe this is my life now. I never thought I'd even want to be with another guy."

Sam laughed and playfully swatted Santana on the ass. "Now you're just trying to make me excited…" He wiggled his brows and let out another laugh. His features grew soft at hearing that Santana was happy. "I'm happy that you're happy. Seeing you happy makes me very happy. You better get used to having this life because I don't intend to change that at all from now on. I don't blame you for thinking that way. If I were put in your shoes and had to deal with your ex, I wouldn't want to be with another guy either. But lucky for you, I'm not him. I'll always support you, Tana. Always."

Santana laughed, keeping her arms loosely around him. Resting her head against his chest, she leaned close, enjoying the feeling of their moment together, of his promise to her. She nodded softly, repeating his words back to him just under her breath, and let herself rest in the comfort and excitement of knowing her man would always keep his word.

88

When Antonia awoke the next morning, the sun was just barely beginning to rise over the sky. She yawned, rubbing at her eyes, and looked carefully around her room for any potential monsters lurking before taking her favorite stuffed animal, a hippo named Hannah, and padded down the hallway. She peeked into Santana and Sam's room, but hearing the faint noise of Santana snoring, she crept past them to Stevie. She opened his door, peeking inside, and then moved forward to his bedside. Hugging Hannah, standing beside his bed with her face only inches away, she breathed out his name. "Stevie. Stevie….are you awake yet?"

"Get me all those cookies. They are mine…" Stevie demanded atop of his throne, waiting for his loyal subjects to fetch the cookies for him. The cookies were scattered about in the field and his loyal subjects were all busy getting them. When all had been collected, he watched as they plated them before the guy in the red weird looking hat came up to present him. Stevie was just about to reach for a cookie when he heard a voice, that distinct little voice that never failed to annoy him. He ignored it and tried to get the cookie but before that could happen, he was awoken from his wonderful dream. Rubbing his eyes, Stevie grumbled, "I was having a dream… Why'd you have to wake me up for?"

: "Cause I'm up and it's morning and I wanna talk," Antonia said simply, like this was more than enough reason that he should yield to her desires. She pulled at his blanket. "Can you move over? My feet are cold. I wanna get under the covers too."

"But I don't wanna talk. Why do I gotta talk so early in the morning? People sleep in the morning." Stevie said and then pulled the covers over his head. "Go back to your room and use your own blanket. This one's mine…"

Antonia's lower lip stuck out, and she shook her head, tugging at the blanket again. "No, I wanna talk now. Mami and Daddy are asleep. Come on, it's nice to share. We're supposed to be nice and share, right?"

Stevie sighed, he didn't want to talk, not when it's so early in the morning, but he didn't want to make Toni cry either, so he pulled the covers away from his face. "Fine, we can talk. What do you want to talk about?"

Antonia pulled at the blanket again, wiggling in beside him. She didn't seem to mind that she was crowding him in the small twin bed with her shoulder and arm and leg up against his. She frowned, seeming to be thinking deeply, and then said, "Are you really, really sure we get a nice big house with lots of toys? 'Cause at my old house I didn't get that. I got scary people in the hall that said weird things and looked mean. And people that fighted at night and yelled loud. And scary noises so I couldn't go out and play. Are you super sure?"

Stevie really didn't like being crowded by anyone. It made him hot and when he gets hot, he gets really cranky. Toni was doing exactly that right that minute. He wanted to push her off, but then he remembered that they were moving to New York and it would make Sammy really sad if Toni and Santana didn't come with them, so he sighed and answered her question, "I'm super sure! You like our house here right? It's beautiful and big and you have toys? Well, if you move to New York, you're going to have an even bigger room with more toys!" He sat up a little, smiling with his arms folded in front of him. "Sammy is rich now. He can buy us toys and lots of cookies for me."

Completely oblivious to Stevie's discomfort, Toni shifted closer, frowning. "Okay….I like that. But I wanna have a playhouse. Can I get another playhouse?" She paused, then looked over at him, curious. "How come you're nice to me now? Is it 'cause my mami loves you? 'Cause I'm still her daughter, you know. She's my mami. Is she gonna be your mami too?"

Stevie scooted back further, grumbling this time, "Can you not come so close. It's hot…" He sighed after hearing all those questions and answered, "I'm sure you will get your playhouse. Sammy said we're rich now. He'll take care of us." He couldn't explain why he was being nice to Toni, so he shrugged his shoulders. "You're my sister now and big brothers take care of their little sisters." He smiled, "Tana can't be my mommy. If she marries Sammy, she'll be my sister in law."

"Aw but my feets are cold," Toni whined, sticking them directly against Stevie's bare shins. "See?" She listened carefully to Stevie, still keeping her feet against him. "Ooh your feets are warm….but what if you want Mami to be your mami? Can't she be your mami and Sam be your brother? She's too old to be your sister. She don't got brothers or sisters just like I don't. How come I gotta be your sister if Mami is your sister, that don't make sense. You made that up."

Stevie squirmed, backing his legs away. "Hey! Don't do that. Your feet's cold! Go put on a sock or something…" He scowled, not happy at what Toni had done. His head hurts with all the questions and so he replied with, "Why you gotta ask so many questions? Sisters can't be mommies. Brothers can't be daddies. You will be like my sister because you're younger. You want me to be your uncle? I can you know. I can totally be your uncle and boss you around." He laughed at the thought.

"I don't wanna. I wanna stay in bed," Toni pouted, pulling her feet away only reluctantly. She kicked them around to try to warm them up. "Are you sure? That don't sound right. I think my mami wants to be your mami too. 'Cause your brother is my daddy. He said so. And you are not so my uncle 'cause you are not my boss. Mami said so."

"You can't stay in my bed. Go back to your own bed." Stevie was losing his patience. Between the questions and having to share his bed, he was getting more irritated by the minute. "Just cause Sammy is your daddy now, it don't make Santana my mommy. I love her okay, but I already got a mommy and she's up in heaven with my daddy. No one can replace them." He felt a little sad, thinking about his parents, so he tried not to think about them. Besides, right now Toni was really irritating him. "I am your uncle. It's how it works. I'm the boss of you now." He laughed.

"But I don't wanna," Antonia repeated, stubborn now, and digging in her heels. It's still her thought process, as much as Santana doesn't give her her way, that if she protests enough, people will give in. "You can have two mamis though I think. You don't want my mami to be your second mami? Hey, do you think I got a daddy in heaven? 'Cause I didn't have a daddy before Sammy." At Stevie's comment on being her boss, she scowled, giving him a kick. "You are not! My mami said so! You're not my boss, I know lots more stuff than you!"

"I don't want 2 mommies, I already have 1 in heaven. Stop telling me what I can and can't do and get out of my bed." Stevie was too mad now. Toni won't leave him alone and she kicked him! "I am too your boss, now get out of my bed! Or I will push you out."

"You will not! You can't push me, you're s'posed to look out after me and that means you can't push me!" Toni half hollered back. She kicked her foot again, this time on the mattress instead of Stevie, just to make her point.

"I can to! This is my bed and I want you out of it! Get up, Toni. Get out of my bed!" Stevie screamed, no longer caring that he might wake the whole house.

"YOU ARE BEING VERY MEAN TO ME!" Antonia shrieked back, equally not caring who might hear or what the consequences might be. "YOU ARE NOT BEING A NICE BIG BROTHER WHEN I ASK YOU VERY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS!"

Sam, startled awake. He heard the commotion coming from Stevie's room, jumped out of bed and ran towards his brother's room. "Stevie, what's wrong? Is anyone hurt?" He asked the questions, quickly, his eyes blinking rapidly as they tried to adjust to abruptly waking up.

"I don't care! You need to get out of my room now!" Stevie folded his arms and scowled at Toni. His brother's sudden appearance startled him, "Sammy, you scared me. I'm okay, but Toni won't get out of my room. Make her get out of my room, Sammy."

Now with an audience, Antonia sat up on her elbows, announcing with wide eyes to Sam. "He is being very mean to me, Daddy! He's saying he's my boss and he dont' want Mami to be his mami and he yelled at me and he won't share!" In her eyes, this is exactly how the whole scenario went down.

Sam blinked his eyes, already he could feel a headache coming. The two kids would forever be a mess to handle. "Alright, you two need to leave each other alone." He picked Toni up, separating the two. "How about some breakfast? I could use some help in the kitchen, Stevie. You could show me how you made pancakes the other day."

Stevie wasn't even trying to listen to Toni now. She wanted him out of her room and out of his space. "Get her away." He scowled, feeling relieved that Sammy had taken Toni off his bed. His interest pique when he heard pancakes being mentioned. "Ooh… I can help! I can help!" He said, jumping out of bed.

Toni was still pouting as she wrapped her arms around Sam's neck, snuggling down against him. To her, he's as good as agreed with her side by picking her up so she kept vying for sympathy. "He isn't neither my boss. Is he? He is not neither. I could beat him up if I wanted to. Me and Hannah." She nodded to the pet hippo clutched under her arm. She smiled at the mention of pancakes too, nodding. "I want pancakes…Daddy, Stevie said his mami and daddy are in heaven. Is that where my daddy was before you?"

Sam didn't need to nor did he want to be caught in the middle of this tiff. He hadn't planned on saying a word, at least not until Toni talked about beating up Stevie. "That's not nice, Toni. Hitting is never the answer. If you disagree on something, use your words. Only words can settle disagreements, not hitting." He told her this with a straight face and stern voice while he continued to walk down the hallway towards the kitchen.

He sighed a few seconds later. How would he explain things about her father in child friendly terms? "Stevie's right, our parents are in heaven. I don't know about yours Toni, you would have to ask your mommy."

Stevie who chose to concentrate on the pancakes, simply rolled his eyes at Toni's threats. His focus is wholly on the delicious breakfast that he was going help to make and later on devour.

Santana, having heard the screaming, was simply pretending to be sleeping to avoid dealing with any of the fall out. She rolled over, pulling her blanket over her head, relived when the yelling stopped.

Antonia pouted a little when Sam scolded her, hiding her face against his neck. She doesn't like when he gets upset with her, so she was quiet for a few minutes as he answered. "I don't like heaven. It makes people die. I don't wanna go there. And my mami don't talk about my other daddy. Don't I have one?"

"That's what happens, sweetheart. Heaven are for dead people. But let's not talk about that, okay?" Sam said softly, running his hands through her soft locks. "You have me as a daddy. Am I not enough for you?" He asked, sounding a little bit sad.

Stevie, tugged on his brother's leg when they reached the kitchen, "Sammy, I'm hungry. Can we please make the pancakes now? Please…."

Antonia frowned, thinking about this. "I don't like dead people. Dead is bad." With Sam's question, her eyes widened, and she shook her head emphatically, hugging him around his neck. "No, you're my bestest daddy ever. You are my daddy right, not my uncle or my brother? Are you sure?" She ignored Stevie.

Sam smiled, he could feel his spirits lifting. "Thank you, my princess. You're the best daughter ever…" He hugged her tightly and pulled back so that he could look her in the eyes, "No, I'm your daddy, not your uncle or brother." He heard Stevie grumbling for pancakes and shook his head, "Okay… Okay… We'll get you some pancakes. Come on, Princess, let's help Stevie make pancakes for breakfast."


	17. Chapter 17

It was two days before the move to New York, and Santana was emotionally drained. She was excited, thrilled, really, for the opportunities it was going to bring them, for the step closer it to her, Sam, and the children being a real family together. She knew that she and Antonia would be able to have everything that she had previously only dreamed of being able to give her, that they would be safe and well cared for. Antonia would not lack for good schooling and clothes, any lessons she might want when she's older, and Santana was more grateful to Sam for this than she could say. More than that, Antonia would not lack for a father. Although they had only jokingly referred to marriage so far, Santana was sure, without ever having actually spoken it aloud, that Sam was the one.

He was the only man she had ever loved, the only man who ever loved her and her daughter. She knew, even in this relatively short time, that he was the man she wanted to be with forever, that she was the man she wanted to be her husband and who had already claimed himself to be Toni's father. She wanted to be a mother figure to Stevie and for Antonia to have him as a brother of sorts, even if the two would undoubtedly continue to drive her and Sam crazy for the rest of their childhoods and likely the rest of their lives. She wanted everything that came with this, and it made her so happy to think about it.

And yet it was scary too. Because moving meant leaving her mother's proximity, a town she was used to and a routine that had become comfortable, transferring her schooling and starting over yet again. It meant resettling Toni and herself too, and although she knew it would work out in the end, she couldn't help but be apprehensive.

That was why she found herself spending the evening with her mother, after most of her packing had been done. She had been somewhat perturbed when Sam took off with the children to get ice cream, so once she had done most of what she needed to, she headed to her mother's house for a visit. Maribel had as always greeted her with a warm embrace, exclamations that she was too skinny, and insistence that she sit and eat as she sat beside her, asking questions before Santana could get enough breath to answer. After she had eaten enough to satisfy her and answered the first onslaughter of prying, the two had sat on the couch, nursing half full glasses of wine as Maribel twined a finger through her daughter's hair, smiling at her.

"So how soon will I be hearing wedding bells, mija?"

"Mami!" Santana rolled her eyes, huffing, but she was smiling in spite of herself. "Can we settle in New York before we think up one more huge thing to add to our list of stuff to do?"

"Oh, you know it's coming, don't even deny it," Maribel smirked back at her, giving her hair a tug. "And why not? He is a good man, he is a good looking man. Those lips-"

"Mami, can you keep it in your pants and not drool over my man?" Santana rolled her eyes again, but even she couldn't resist adding, "He is pretty hot. Those lips are no joke."

"And he is good to you, the way he looks at you, his whole face lights up," Maribel continued, ignoring her. "As does yours, mija. I have never seen you look so at ease and happy around anymore. He is good for you, and for Toni. He will be a good father."

"She adores Toni, and he thinks that sun rises and sets on her," Santana murmured, smiling softly as she leaned her head towards her mother's stroking hand. "He already calls her princess. I was so afraid she would never have this."

"You've been a good mother to her," Maribel assured her softly, still lightly stroking her hair. "She would turn out well even if he were not here. But I am happy for her, for you both." She paused, still speaking softly, as she gave her daughter's hair another tug. "But I will miss you, Santanita. Oh, how I will miss you. Do not be surprised if you discover in a few months that I have rented out an apartment in your backyard."

Santana laughed slightly, because she knew her mother was dead serious. She let her head come to rest against her mother's shoulder, snuggling in against her with her own wordless way of showing her that she would miss her too. As her mother's hand gently rested on her head, she was reminded of how she often holds Antonia like this, how one day, Antonia might hold her own daughter in this way as well, and a strong sense of nostalgia swept over her. She wondered if her father had ever held her, before she and her mother split, and felt a strong sense of gratitude that Antonia would not escape her childhood without the memory of a father's arms.

She would miss her mother, and getting Toni accustomed to the move might be hell. But she was so happy for everything it would mean.

Everything was set for the move. They were spending one more night in Lima and then it was off to New York for them, where they would be living during the duration of his season with the Yankees. Sam has always intended to make things official between him and Santana before the big move. He wanted her to know that he was serious about their future together, but with everything going on, he hasn't had the chance to propose yet.

Tonight was the night though. Tonight, he was determined make her the future Mrs. Sam Evans. Before he could make that a possibility, he's recruited Stevie to help him pick out the ring. Although, he's oblivious, his little brother has been helpful in the process. Now that he had the ring, he's going to need Maribel and Toni's help too. He loves his little Princess and didn't want her to feel left out. Also, he figured that she would like to be involved in the process, so why not make her happy too?

With Tana in school, he brings the children over to Maribel's. Sam was wearing a huge smile on his face as he waits for the older version of Santana to open the door. "Hello, Maribel. Nice to see you again." He greeted her with Toni in his arms.

Stevie, although excited to help his brother with the proposal today, was more excited to see Maribel. He liked her. She was nice to him and she had cookies. What kid didn't like cookies? He too was smiling and was waving at Maribel enthusiastically. "Hi, Maribel! I've missed you."

Surprised but pleased to see the trio before her, Maribel smiled warmly, opening the door for them to come in. "Well hello! This is a lovely surprise. I'm so glad you did not leave without coming to see me again. Antonita knows that would make her abuela very sad, right, carina?"

"Oh, I missed you too, corazon, but I bet you missed my cookies almost as much," Maribel laughed, reaching down to hug Stevie warmly. She smiled at Sam and then reached to take Antonia, who gladly went into her arms and hugged her around the neck. Holding Toni as she backed her inside, she looked up at Sam. "Will Santana be coming by later as well?"

"We couldn't leave without saying goodbye." Sam said before giving Toni over to Maribel. He ruffled his brother's hair and laughed a little. Maribel definitely understood his little brother. "I think you're right about his motives."

Stevie, unashamed by his thoughts and motives, shrugged his shoulders. He hugged Maribel back and said, "I do like your cookies, but I like you too."

Sam ushered his brother inside and followed suit. He nodded at Maribel's question and said, "Yes, that's the plan, but I'm here because I need your help." He pulled out the grey velvet box containing the engagement ring and presented it to Maribel. "I planned on proposing to your daughter tonight and I was wondering if you would give me your consent and help me with it."

"Oh, well, I'm certainly glad I run a close second in your heart," Maribel laughed, ruffling Stevie's hair. She shifted Antonia to her other hip, pecking her cheek, and squeezed Sam's hand warmly before he spoke again.

As he presented her with the engagement ring, her eyes widened, and she let out a low gasp even before he could explaining, her entire face lighting up like a Christmas tree as she guessed what was going on. Antonia, clueless, looked at the ring and oohed in appreciation.

"Oooh that's pretty Daddy. That's for Mami? She will like it! Can I get one too?"

"Baby, that is a grown up ring," Maribel laughed, giving her another kiss before setting her down and moving to Sam's side, cupping his hand in both of hers. "Oh, I give you my consent, and any help you might need. I am proud to call you mijo from this day on."

Antonia doesn't get it and laughed again, happy because she thinks she caught her abuela in a mistake. "Daddy isn't your son, 'Buela!"

"Oh, he is now, carina, weren't you listening?" Maribel laughed, looking down at her. "He is going to marry your mami, and that makes him my son and your daddy forever."

Antonia's eyes grew wide at this too, and she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "It is a wedding like Shrek and Fiona!"

"I helped pick out the ring you know. I was a big help." Stevie said proudly.

"Yes, you were, buddy. You were a huge help to me." Sam ruffled his brother's hair again and smiled a Maribel and Toni's exchange. He already knew that he was going to love Maribel like a mother. She cared not only for him but for Stevie as well.

"Thank you. I'm glad that I'm getting your blessings. It means a lot to me." He said sincerely and looked at Toni. "I would be your daddy because you're your mommy's daughter, Toni. Maribel would be my mom and since Stevie is my brother, he would technically be your uncle."

"Ha! Told you I was your uncle. That makes me the boss of you." Stevie gloated.

"You are not the boss of anybody. That's not how big boys do things." Sam chided. He shook his head and looked back at Maribel. "Anyway, I thought that it would be nice if all of you were present when I propose to Santana, but I don't know if she'll like that. Do you think she will?"

"Oh, Stevie, you be sure to tell Santana that, she will be so happy to hear you helped," Maribel told Stevie fondly. Shifting her attention back to Sam, she smiled even more widely if possible, nodding emphatically. "Oh, I think she will love it. What she'll not like is if I get her on video crying, that, she would have objections to. But oh will it be hard to restrain myself."

Antonia was not interested in the details of how her mother would be proposed to. It was enough for her that it was going to happen, and Sam would be her daddy forever. She didn't like the part about Stevie being her uncle, especially when he said he was her boss. She scowled at him, shaking her head.

"Will not! I'm gonna be five whole years old next year so I'll catch up with you, so there!" She forgot that Stevie would be six when she was five.

Stevie didn't want to get into trouble, so he discreetly stuck out his tongue and made a face at Toni.

Sam on the other hand was busy talking to Maribel and had not caught on to what the kids were doing. "You should record it. I think she'll get past the embarrassment eventually." He laughed. "So is it okay if I set up dinner in your backyard? I was thinking about cooking and having a candlelit dinner for the both of us."

To Antonia, this is an outrage. She stuck her tongue out as far as she could make it go and waggled it all around, also sticking her thumbs in her ears and waggling her fingers and crossing her eyes at Stevie.

Maribel does see this but ignored it, since neither is screaming or crying yet. She nodded her assent to Sam, touching his arm. "Yes, definitely. And anything that you need me to do I will. If I need to keep the children or distract Santana, whatever you want."

Stevie didn't like being outdone, but it was hard to keep up when he saw Toni looking utterly ridiculous with her eyes crossed and tongue flailing around. He chuckled at this and said, "You win. You make the best faces."

"Well, I'm going to need you to keep the kids while I make dinner and do the set up. I'm sure Stevie will be good if you give him your delicious cookies." Sam laughed.

Stevie heard the word cookies and perked up, "Cookies?! Did you say cookies?"

Antonia forgot she was annoyed and grinned, immediately perking up at this "victory." "Yeah! I win! I win!" She pumped her fist in the air.

"No problem," Maribel nodded to Sam, reaching to give his arm a squeeze again. "We will have a good time, and certainly there will be some cookies if they can play nicely the whole time Sam is working."

Antonia did a little dance, pumping her fist again. "Cookies!"

Stevie had completely ignored Toni by now. His focus was on those delicious cookies. "Can we please have those cookies now? Please…"

"Thank you, Maribel. You are a lifesaver." Sam said before turning to the kids. "Stevie listen to Maribel and don't taunt Toni… Toni, you know what to do too, Princess. Daddy has some work to do." He kissed both kids on top of their heads and went back outside to get their items for dinner.

Two hours later, he had everything set. Dinner had been cooked and the setting was complete. He shot Tana a text, asking her where she was and she told him that she was on the way back to her mom's.

He was feeling a nervous and jittery, so he picked Toni up and asked, "Do you think mommy will say yes? I'm a little nervous here."

"Yes,carina, come here and help me.I do not have many left, perhaps you and mi nieta can make more?" Maribel held out a hand to the children to take and lead them into the living room."You may sit nicely at the coffee table and have what is left and perhaps later we will make more."

The children cooperated, eager for the cookies, and Maribel kept them amused with games and stories. As Sam returned to the living room, letting them know Santana was on her way, and he picked Antonia up, Antonia looked at him seriously and then smiled, snuggling up to him.

"Mami is gonna say yes. She loves you a whole lot, daddy, and me too. It's gonna be so cool."

"You think she will?" Sam asked Toni again, needing a little more encouragement and reassurance.

Stevie, sensing his brother's distress, got off the sofa and walked up to him. "You don't have to worry, Sammy, Santana loves you. She won't say no. When she sees the ring, she'll say yes."

"Yes, she will," Antonia nodded affirmatively. She hugged Sam again around the neck, squeezing. "My mami loves you. She will marry you 'cause that's how it works. You gotta get married when you're in love." She tilted her head, considering. "But even though that ring is super pretty it would be even better if it was pink. Or purple. Or RAINBOW!"

Sam smiled at Stevie and ruffled his hair. "Thank you, buddy. I needed to hear that." His attention went back to Toni, "You too, Princess, thank you." He hugged her back, laughing as he listened to her little rant about getting a rainbow ring. "Sorry, sweetheart. I'm sure a rainbow ring would be nice, but it's not appropriate for this occasion."

"But rainbows are super happy," Antonia argued. "And it's super happy you're gonna marry my mami. Don't you think so? I think it should be a super happy rainbow ring."

Sam was saved from having to argue when Santana opened the front door, having pulled up into her mother's driveway a few minutes ago. Maribel's eyes lit up, and Antonia too excitedly clapped her hands, anticipating the moment as she grinned and wiggled in Sam's arms to be put down. "Mami's here! Yay!"

Santana raised her eyes, giving a little laugh. "Didn't know I'd get such a welcome. What has everyone been up to?"

Sam didn't want to be rude and ignore Toni's rants, but what else could he say? Thankfully, Santana was here. Crisis averted, he thought with a chuckled, releasing the little girl into the arms of her mom.

"Tana!" Stevie hugged her soon to be sister in law's leg fiercely.

"Hey, babe. We're just chillin', talkin' and stuff…" He said, not wanting her to know of his plans. "I made dinner for us. Are you hungry?"

With Antonia on her hip, still wiggling around excitedly until Santana put her back down, Santana looked up at Sam, giving him a genuine smile. "Awesome, babe, I'm starving. Though I think it's kinda weird that Mami let you touch things in her kitchen…and she's being way quiet. What gives?" She turned towards her mother, who tried with little success to keep her face blank. Santana's next suspicious glance turned to Antonia, who beamed, dimples popping into her cheeks, and giggled.

"Okay, were you all talking about me just before I came in or something? 'Cause you know Mami makes up like 99% of all the stories she tells on me."

"Great!" Sam wrapped an arm around Santana's shoulder when she started asking questions. The smiles on Maribel, Stevie and Toni's faces didn't do much to help quell her suspicions. "Don't worry about them, Tana. We weren't talking about you. Now come on, let's go have dinner." He led her along, heading out to the backyard. The candles had been lit for the occasion, giving the back yard a romantic flow.

He pulled her chair back and helped her to her seat before going to the opposite end to sit down. "Would you like some Champagne?" He asked, picking up the bottle that had been chilling in the champagne bucket.

Santana was still regarding all four of them suspiciously, but she let Sam lead her into the backyard with the Antonia trailing behind. She sat as Sam lead her, eyebrows raising at his efforts. "You really went to a lot of trouble here. I didn't even have a huge exam or anything today. What's all this for, babe?"

She accepted the champagne, even more curious as she took a sip. "Is this because we're moving?"

"No, it's because-" Antonia started to blurt before Maribel, who had followed to retrieve her, gently clapped a hand over her mouth, then covered it by tickling her so Antonia burst out giggling. Antonia pulled away, doing an excited little dance, as Santana turned to stare at her.

"How many cookies did you give her tonight, Mami?"

"Far too many, I suppose. Toni, mi nieta, come with me, your mother is tired I am sure and could use a few moments to relax with Sam," Maribel said to her. She took Toni by the hand and lead her away, with Antonia straining to look over her shoulder until she was out of sight.

"Can't I just cook for my girlfriend? Why do I have to have an ulterior motive?" Sam poured the Champagne for the both of them and settled back in his seat. He felt a little jittery. An engagement was a huge deal and he didn't want to fuck it up. "Possibly…" He shrugged his shoulders.

When Toni almost spilled the beans, he knew that it couldn't be prolonged any longer. This had to be done and soon, so he stood up and walked over to Santana.

He had planned the dinner, bought the ring and even planned on the words to say, but the words got stuck in his throat now that he was here. He stood in front of her for a few seconds, breathing deeply while he sought the words that seemed to have gone missing.

Finally, he stopped thinking and got on his knees. He pulled out the ring, opening the box before presenting it to Santana. "Santana, I've loved you from the day I first set eyes on you. It's crazy because I don't believe in love at first sight and I hadn't planned to fall in love so quickly, but here I am a man in love with the most beautiful woman, not only on the outside, but also on the inside. I love your strength, your caring nature, even your stubbornness and I would be the happiest man on earth if you would consent to be my wife. So will you marry me, Santana Marisol Lopez."

His voice had cracked a little and tears had gathered behind his eyes. Sam didn't realize how emotional he would get until the moment happened. Oddly, he wasn't ashamed of how he was reacting. He loved her, that was all there is to it.

When Sam first got to his knees, Santana thought he was being playful or silly, that he would take her hands and kiss them or maybe even get kind of pervy, despite the fact that the children were just inside. When he pulled out the ring box, it still didn't compute what he was doing. She was wondering if this was still some playful game of his. But when she saw the beautiful, unique setting of the diamond ring, Santana's breath caught in her throat, and the realization flooded her mind so her entire body seemed to be heated through with vivid emotion more than any coherent thought. She stared, blinking rapidly, hearing every one of Sam's words and marveling at them.

She loved him too. She loved him and trusted him and needed him more than she ever would have thought possible, and now he was asking her to be his forever. To have Sam Evans as her husband.

Seeing the tears in his eyes did it. Her own eyes teared up, then overflowed, and she nodded, too choked up at first to speak.

"Yes. Yes, I will. God, I will."

Sam swallowed, reacting nervously to Tana's silence. Thoughts whirling in his mind, mostly thoughts of her rejecting him. But he didn't get the chance to stay in those negative thoughts. Santana was crying and she had agreed. There was no way that he was going to let her back out now, so he slipped the ring on her finger, got back on his feet to pulled her up into his arms and kissed her most passionately.

"I love you so much, Santana." He told her once their lips parted, "You have no idea how happy you've made me."

Stevie, who had been watching all this from the kitchen window, ran outside and clapped his hands. "Yay! Tana, you're going to be my big sister for real now!" He cheered, throwing himself at both his brother and his soon to be sister in law.

Santana let herself be pulled up, locking her arms tightly around Sam's neck and kissing him with as much fervor as she could convey to him. Pulling back, grinning hugely, even as tears still stood in her eyes, she told him in a slightly shaking voice, "I love you too. I love you so much. God, I'm gonna marry you. I'm going to MARRY YOU!"

She laughed, kissing him again, but was interrupted by Stevie running out cheering. Still laughing, trying to wipe at her eyes, she reached down to hug Stevie, but soon his flailing arms were joined by a shrieking, squealing Toni's and then her mother's. Santana surrendered to the group hug, grinning so much her cheeks hurt.

Sam laughed, he was glad that Santana was excited about their engagement. This felt like a dream come true. Soon, their family came out to congratulate them. He hugged Stevie, who seemed to be really happy at the moment. Sam was glad for this because he really didn't want Stevie to feel alone or that all he had was Sam. There was more to life, more happiness and love to be shared and he wanted his brother to experience all of it. "I love you too, Tana, so much…" He repeated the words, for the moment reveling in the warmth of his family's love.

Antonia was shrieking in the high pitched, excited tones that only children under five seemed able to manage, crying out in one breath, "Mami Daddy Mami Daddy princess wedding yay!" and jumping up and down. Santana scooped her up, spinning her around so she squealed with laughter, and kissed both her cheeks before setting her down. She hugged Stevie too, whispering in his ear, "I'm so glad I'm getting a little brother!" before releasing him. She didn't even have to turn to her mother, because Maribel was waiting for her chance to snatch her up as soon as Stevie was free from her. Maribel held Santana hard, her hand cradling the back of her head in the same way she must have when Santana was only a baby, and Santana could hear her mother sniffling as she whispered into her ear.

"Oh, my ninita hermosa, I have waited for this for you." Pulling back, she cupped Santana's face, smiling tenderly, and then turned to the others, raising her voice to be heard. "So I am now lucky enough to have a not only a lovely and strong daughter but a talented and generous son who is more attractive than all my friends' sons combined, yes? As well as my beautiful little spitfire granddaughter and my handsome and sweet Stevie." She wasn't sure what exactly Stevie was considered to be in relation. "One would think this would be more than enough, but oh, I know you two can make it that much better and get to work making me even more amazing grandchildren, yes?"

"Mami!" Santana swatted at her, but she was laughing. And she had to admit, she did wonder what a child with her and Sam's genes would look like.

Stevie was so happy for his brother. He had never seen Sammy this happy before. It was like he had a glow about him now and Stevie knew that it was because of Santana. "I love you, Tana." He said to his new sister sincerely and smiled up at Maribel. "Can you call you Abuela too now? I like Abuela. It sounds nice…"

Sam was filled with so much happiness. Almost everyone who he held in high regards was there. His princess was excited, Santana had tears of happiness in her eyes and Maribel who was being complimentary was already telling them to get started on having babies. "I'm happy to have three such beautiful women in my life. Both Stevie and I are lucky." He laughed a little before adding, "I'm ready to have a few of those babies you are talking about, but it all depends on Santana now. We got at her pace. Hopefully, she won't make me wait until I'm 40." He winked at his fiancee, knowing that he was probably going to get an eye roll.

"I love you too, Stevie," Santana told him, smiling down at him. She leaned down to kiss the top of his head, turning with a quick smile to look ath er mother when Stevie asked to call her abuela. She knew Maribel would love that.

Maribel looked teary still as she nodded at Stevie, smiling down at him, and she reached to pat his shoulder. "Oh yes, carina, you certainly can. I would love to be your Abuela."

"You're mine too," Antonia reminded her, tugging at Maribel's arm, and Maribel laughed, patting her head.

"Yes, Antonita, always yours too."

As Santana basked in the moment, soaking up the excitement, joy, and most of all love that was surrounding her, she walked back and let herself sink into Sam's arms, realizing that now, after today, she would belong there potentially forever. And that was truly amazing.


	18. Chapter 18

"Why did we agree on this road trip again?" Sam shouted over the kids yelling, just so his fiance could hear him.

They both thought that it would be fun to drive to New York and enjoy the sights of the country with the kids. They were 2 hours in and already the two kids were at each others' throats. Stevie was busy quarreling with Toni. She had been bugging him with questions after questions and it was driving him crazy.

"I don't know where we are, Toni!" he griped, sighing loudly. "I don't know when we'll get there. Why do you gotta ask so many questions? Go play with your toys!"

Santana had her sunglasses on and was strongly considering searching for ear plugs too. She had been trying to ignore the kids' shouting for a while but her nerves were steadily wearing thin. She shouted back over them to Sam, not answering his question.

"I swear I am ten seconds from saying what my tio used to say when I would be in the car with my cousin…DON'T MAKE ME COME BACK THERE!"

Antonia pouted, kicking at the seat in front of her and grabbing up Sam's Superman toy. She ignored her mother entirely as she responded to Stevie.

"But your toys are cool. I wanna make him fly….I'm gonna hold him out the window so he can flap his cape!" She started to roll the window down with every intention of hanging Stevie's beloved Superman figure out of it.

Sam actually laughed. He hadn't seen Santana this worked up ever since the little incident by the river. With his free hand, he reached out for her hand and began to caress her palms.

"Relax, babe, I'll take care of this."

He looked at the kids through the rear view mirror and stated in a clear voice, "If you kids don't stop, I will take away all your toys for a week." He saw that Toni had rolled down the window, so he rolled it back up and locked it. "Princess, sit still and don't roll down the windows."

"Play with your own toys! Leave mine alone!" Stevie pouted and folded his arms. "But she's bugging me, Sammy. She wants to throw my Superman out the window."

Santana took a breath, relaxing with Sam's caress. She gave him a smile, leaning her head back, and glanced back at the kids in the rearview, speaking more calmly. "Listen to him. Think about that, Antonia Cristina. How would you feel not having your teddy for a whole week?"

Antonia's eyes widened, and she shook her head fast, her voice rising up in her shrill horror. "But I gotta have my teddy! He would be scared without me!"

"Then you better think about that, huh?"

Antonia pouted, saying to Sam, "He is telling stories on me, Daddy. I did not neither try to throw him out the window. I was gonna make him fly super cool. 'Cause he's Superman. Stevie don't even play with him right. When are we gonna be there?"

"Stevie, she didn't say she was going to throw away your toy, you must not have heard Toni properly," Sam corrected his brother. "Please be good, kids. We have a long way to go before New York. I tell you what, if you're both good, we'll stop to get ice cream at the next town."

"But I thought she wanted to throw it out?" Stevie pouted, folding his arms. "I do too play with him, right." He stuck out his tongue at Toni and quickly perked up when he heard the words ice cream. " Ice cream?! I love ice cream!"

"Toni, you play with your own toys unless Stevie tells you that you can play with his, and Stevie, you play with your own toys unless Toni tells you that you can play with hers," Santana instructed.

Toni was eyeing Stevie's toys with undisguised interest though. "I wanna play with Stevie's toys though. Can I Stevie, can I? Can I see your Ipad? Can I see your Batman? I never played with your toys before. I asked so now you gotta share 'cause that's the rules, right?"

Santana smirked in spite of herself but quickly hid it, reminding them, "Ice cream, right?" To Sam she said in undertone, "Baby, I think what you're hoping is these kids will end up being so porky they don't have the energy to chase each other around trying to kill each other."

Sam snorted at Santana's suggestion, but had to admit that it was ingenious. "You know what, we should actually do that. We'll just give them so much food and force them into a food induce coma."

Santana snickered, but then rethought it. "No, if Toni's that chunky then my back would give out every time I had to carry her. And I would have to because she would be too rolling in chub to walk much. New plan, babe. Feed them on an all turkey diet, because of the tryptophan tiring you out."

Sam laughed loudly at that. He laughed so loud, he almost snorted again. "You do have a point there. But wouldn't they get fat too if we gave them too much turkey?"

"Nah, turkey is a pretty low calorie food I think. We can leave out the gravy and mashed potatoes and stuff. If they just eat turkey for every meal, we're in good shape." Santana was seriously considering it at this point. "Cranberries are low calorie too right?"

"I don't want to share with you, Toni. Sammy says that you gotta get permission first and I don't want to share." Stevie scowled, saying loudly, "Sammy, she's being bratty again… Tell her to stop. I don't wanna share…"

Sam sighed and again looked into the rearview mirrors. "Princess you have to get Stevie to agree to lend you his toys, okay? Stevie, you need to learn to share your toys too."

"But I don't wanna…"

"But sharing is NICE! You are not being a nice boy!" Antonia proclaimed this loudly, scowling and slumping in her seat. Then she sat back up, renewing her efforts. "Please? Please please? please please please with cherries? Please please please please please please please please please please….."

"Leave me alone," Stevie grumbled and then whined, " Sammy! Stop her. She's annoying me."

Sam who was actually still laughing a minute ago, let out a sigh when he heard the two going on and on.

"Princess, stop it. Leave Stevie alone." His gaze landed on Santana, his voice pleading this time. "Babe, you need to do something about this. I can't go on driving with them screaming in the back seat."

"I'm not doing anything! I'm asking very nicely because I said PLEASE!" Antonia half shouted the last word, and this was it for Santana. Rubbing Sam's shoulder reassuringly, she told him, "Pull over."

She waited for him to, then turned around slowly, eyeing first Antonia, then Stevie. Slowly she got out of the car, unbuckling Antonia from her seatbelt and kiddy booster seat, lifting her out under the armpits, and then shut the door. Antonia started whining, asking what she was doing, but Santana stood in front of the closed door, arms crossed, until she stopped talking, forehead scrunched in confusion and slight fear.

"Antonia. We are not getting back into that car until you can behave yourself. That means sitting quietly, saying your words in a conversation voice instead of a shouting or whining one, not bugging Stevie to give you his toys, and not making us get onto you. Your daddy can't pay attention when he is driving if you don't behave and that is dangerous. So we're going to stand right here until you can get back in that car and not make it dangerous to drive. I'll wait."

Sam blew out a breath, thankful that Santana was going to take care of this for him. He looked back at his brother when the two ladies were out of the car and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Stevie shrugged and looked out into the horizon. Still not looking at his brother, he asked, "Do you think that I'm being mean for not sharing? She don't share her toys so why do I gotta share mine?"

Sam nodded and for a few seconds there was silence. "No. I don't think you're being mean. I think that it's nice to share, but if you don't want to, then no one should force you to. Stevie listen, sometimes you have to take the high road, okay? Just because she's not sharing her toys, doesn't mean that you can't share yours. Maybe Toni needs to learn from your example. Maybe if she sees how kind you are to her, she would learn to share too."

Stevie who was still staring out the window, thought about what Sammy was saying. He didn't like having to give up everything of his all the time, but he also hated fighting all the time too. Then a few minutes later, he looked at Sammy again and asked. "You really think she's going to be nice to me if I share my stuff? But what if she breaks it? I don't want her to break my toys or my Ipad."

"I think she will be," Sam nodded. He understood where Stevie was coming from. It had to be hard having to share everything and be thrust in a big brother role without much notice. "I tell you what, if Toni breaks your toys or Ipad, I will buy a new one for you."

"Really?" Stevie asked, a little curious now. Then with a shrug, he agreed. "Okay…"

"Good. You are being a good brother, Stevie."

Initially Antonia was not in the mood to listen. She stomped her feet and pouted up at her mother, arms crossed over her chest in imitation of Santana. "Mami! I was not being mean! I said please! I said please a LOT!"

"Yeah, you said please about nineteen times too many, way too loudly, and not in a nice way, and that is not the way I've taught you to ask for things. We're going to stand out here until you can tell me for yourself what you need to do to get back into the car again." Santana stood firm, not budging.

It was another few minutes of sighing and stomping and whining, but eventually Antonia stood up straight and apologized to Santana's satisfaction, though her lower lip was still stuck out in a pout. It took her another few minutes to remember all the criteria that Santana had set for her to go back to the car and repeat it back to her correctly, and only then did Santana open back the door, put her in her booster seat, buckle her up, and get back in the car. Antonia was pouting down into her lap and mumbled her apologies in a subdued tone.

"Sorry Stevie. Sorry Daddy. "

Santana exhaled as she leaned back in her seat, mumbling to Sam. "Subway has turkey, right?"

Sam smiled right as Toni and Santana came back inside the car. To Toni, he smiled and nodded. "It's okay, Princess. Don't do it again." Back at Santana, he smirked, shaking his head. "Let's go find Subway."

Stevie nodded, then decided to start sharing. "You wanna share my Ipad? But you gotta let me hold it, okay? I don't want it to fall and break. Sammy paid a lot of money for it…"

"Thank God. Subway it is. And Stevie, that's really nice of you to share with her."

Antonia, completely thrilled at this prospect presented, brightened immediately and leaned over in her booster seat to share with Stevie. By the time they did pull over for Subway she was absorbed in playing with Stevie and had forgotten to fight with him. They all ate, with Santana ordering a turkey kid's meal for Antonia just because, hey, maybe it's worth a try, and resumed driving.

After playing with Stevie with his Ipad for a while, Antonia was noticeably quiet and eventually let him take it back to himself. Santana didn't pay attention, thinking that maybe the turkey really did make her sleepy and she might nap, but then she heard a little voice in the back piping up and froze.

"Mami...my tummy hurts..."

It's not often they've gone on long car trips before, but a couple of them had definitely been memorable for this exact reason, and Santana shook Sam's shoulder urgently. "Pull over, now, hurry!"

Sam did that quickly and got out of the car.

"Toni, are you okay?" he asked, aware of Stevie climbing out next to him.

Antonia was already gagging by the time Santana practically flew around to her side of the car, opened the door, and unbuckled her seatbelt. She still had her up in the air as she was transporting her, holding her under her armpits, when Antonia started to vomit, but she was at the very least outside of the car. Easing her down to the ground, Santana held her hair back and rubbed her back, trying to keep her calm as she looked up at Sam.

"Do we have any napkins left from lunch? Or baby wipes somewhere? You're okay, mija. You're okay. You're not even sick, that's just being carsick."

Toni was not in any mood to hear that she's okay. The moment she could get her breath enough she was wailing loudly. "Mamiiiiiiii I THROWED UP! My tummy hurts and there is throw up on my shirt RIGHT ON HELLO KITTY!"

Santana stripped her shirt off her, leaving her bare chested. "We'll wash it, it's going to be okay." Picking her up, she rubbed her back, not even bothering to look right now for a suitcase that has clothes. It's spring so it's not like she'll be uncomfortable. Looking back at Stevie she added, "She really is okay, Stevie, don't worry."

The whole scene was a mess. Toni was throwing up and Sam felt really badly for her. He had his hand on Stevie's shoulder when he felt a tugging on his arm. He looked down and frowned a little. He could see that Stevie was turning green.

"Buddy, what's wrong? Do you have to throw up too?"

Stevie, seeing everything that was going on, was starting to feel the food in his stomach rolling around. He heaved for a few seconds and after nodding at his brother almost frantically, he turned just in time to throw up the food in his stomach. It happened so fast and so quick, he didn't know what's wrong with him.

"Sammy, I think I'm getting sick too…"

This was a complete disaster. Now Stevie had been sick and they had two kids to take care of. Seeing Stevie get sick, Antonia started crying even harder, clinging to Santana.

"STEVIE IS SICK TOO! I DON'T WANT US TO BE SICK!"

Sharing a harried look with Sam, Santana carried Antonia around to the passenger's side of the car, trying to set her down, but Toni whined and clung to her, so she had to balance her on one hip and look for fast food napkins with the other. She took a handful and wet it with the remnants of water from her water bottle, wiping off Toni's hands, face, and neck, then carried her and the napkins back to Sam and Stevie. Toni still wasn't letting her put her down, so she handed the napkins to Sam to attend to Stevie.

"I'm sorry, Stevie, are you feeling better now?" Between the two of them it's taking all her restraint not to gag herself and she hissed to Sam under her breath, "If you puke too I'll lose it."

Sam didn't like seeing Stevie in this state. He could handle whiny sick Stevie, but they were on the road now, what were they supposed to do? "It's okay, buddy. You'll be okay…"

Stevie didn't want to be on the road anymore. When he was sick, Sammy would always let him lay in bed and watch TV until he was feeling better and he wanted that right now.

"I wanna go to bed. Can we go home, Sammy?"

"Buddy, we have to drive to New York City, remember? We can't go home. Home is in New York now."

Stevie's bottom lip trembled. "Okay…" He got back into the car, buckling himself in with a lot of effort and then closing his eyes.

Sam sighed, following him back into the car before saying to Santana, "We might have to stop, babe. Stevie is not feeling well too and he wants to go to bed. I promise I won't throw up too. Lucky for you, I have stomach of steel."

Toni was still crying loudly and dramatically, sniffling and sobbing that she wanted to go home too, and Santana sighed, shifting her to her other hip. Looking over at Sam, she nodded.

" Okay. Let's go get them settled."

She rocked Toni for a few more moments, kissing her head and trying to settle her, before buckling her back into the booster seat, despite her protests that she wanted Santana, and got back in the car herself.

"Don't drive fast, but jesus let's find one soon."

After getting the thumb's up, Sam drove off. He wasn't trying to rush, but he wanted to get the kids settled so they could relax, rest up, and hopefully have a better driving experience the next day.

"I'm going to get us checked in to a hotel soon. Hang on, Buddy. We'll get you tucked in, in no time."

Thankfully, he found a Holiday Inn not too far away and in 15 minutes were able to check them in. He carried Stevie to the kids attached room and tucked him in. Stevie was happy that they were stopping. He no longer felt like throwing up, but he did feel weaker, so he let Sam carry him to the room and tuck him in bed.

"Can you turn on the TV, please?"

Sam, knowing that this was Stevie's way to relax when he was sick, took the remote and turned on the TV, setting the channel at the Cartoon Network. "There you go, Buddy. Feel better okay?"

Antonia too was feeling better by the time they found a room, although she did insist on Santana carrying her inside. Once they were inside the hotel room and Sam had settled Stevie in bed, Santana leaned over to kiss his and push his hair off her forehead, then sat down with a still only half dressed Toni in her arms, holding her and rocking her slightly. Toni put her thumb in her mouth, relaxing against her chest, and then popped her eyes open after a few minutes, wiggling for Santana to put her down.

"Okay I feel better now, Mami. Does this place got a pool? Can I jump on the bed?"

"No, Princess, you can't jump on the bed," Sam answered her. " Stevie is not feel good. You have to be quiet for him. Can you do that for me?"

"Night, hombrecito," Santana called to Stevie. She looked up at Toni, who was now bouncing on her toes, having regained her energy. Toni tugged at Sam's arm, hanging off it.

"Toni, you jump on that bed and whatever is left in your stomach is gonna jump out on the floor again."

Toni pouted, still hanging on Sam. "But I don't feel quiet. I feel like jumping and swimming."

Santana smirked, shaking her head, and lightly knuckled Toni in the forehead. "Sorry, kiddo. It's time to be quiet."

When Toni kept pouting, she sat down on the bed opposite Stevie's, pulling her into her lap, and started to rock her again, beginning to sing softly. She rocked, singing, and in spite of herself, Toni's eyes started to droop and she lay her head against her mother's chest. It took a little less than ten minutes for her to be dozing off into a nap, and Santana tucked her into her bed, leaving the room quietly and pulling Sam with her.

"Remind me again why exactly we're doing this road trip thing when we have to turn in for the day at one friggin' PM? It's gonna take a year to get there."

Sam saw that his brother had fallen asleep in the midst of Tana's lullaby, so he reached for the remote and went to turn off the TV. He and Tana walked out of the kids room quietly and sighed in relief once they were in their own room. He sat down on the bed.

"God, I don't know when we'll get there. I hope it won't take a year. I have to be at the field next week! This is going to be one hell of a roadtrip. What was I thinking? We should have flown," he laughed. "It will be fine though. The kids will enjoy the rest of the trip."

Keeping an ear out for the kids, Santana slumped down against Sam, half draping over him, head on his shoulder. "We'll get there if I have to send those two alone on a plane and you and me drive the rest of the way...hey, not a bad idea. Can we consider that?"

She smiled, nudging him with her shoulder. "Such an optimist...and such a pushover. Ain't no way in hell Mami would have halted a road trip for me when we were barely a few hours into it just because I got carsick. I think we better take advantage of the hour or so of quiet they're gonna give us, and take a nap ourselves...or maybe we can have even more of a recharge?"

Smirking, she stroked her fingers under his shirt, walking them up his chest. "Either way, time for our own fun."


	19. Chapter 19

It had been two weeks since they settled into their apartment, and the kids had finally settled into their new schools, new home, and new neighborhood. There were some rough nights but it finally seemed to be evening out. Santana has settled as well into a full on routine with schoolwork for herself and finally feels she had enough time to really focus. Sam had been practicing daily for his baseball team and now his hard work was about to pay off at his first game. Santana had the closest seat in the stadium she could get, and with Antonia in her lap, Stevie beside her, she prepared to cheer with everything she had for her fiance. She's never been a sports fan but her chest was tight with excitement and nerves for him now as Toni wiggled in her lap, bouncing with equal excitement.

"Daddy's gonna WIN, Mami!"

Stevie was full of excitement this afternoon. Sammy was playing his first game for the Yankees and they all came out to support him. Stevie had on a Yankees Jersey and baseball hat. He would have worn his brother's numbers, except they didn't have one seeing as he was new to the team.

"He is!" he agreed with Toni, for once.

As nervous as Sam was to be starting his first game, he was even more so afraid of failure because Santana and the kids were watching. When he walked up to the pitcher's plate, he looked up and spotted them. He smiled brightly before going into game face.

 _You can do this, Sam… You can do this…_

"Gonna win! Gonna win! My daddy's gonna win!" Antonia chanted this happily, clapping her hands and bouncing on Santana's lap until her mother put her hands on her thighs to still her.

"Baby, hold still, you're gonna fall off my lap if you keep moving around like that." Santana was grinning too, also wearing a baseball hat matching Stevie's. She caught Sam looking up at them and grinned back, cupping her hands to call out to him. "Make 'em work for it, babe!"

Stevie giggled watching Toni squirm around like a worm for a few seconds. His attention went to his brother who was walking towards the pitcher's plate.

"Yay! Sammy!" He clapped and cheered.

Sam smiled seeing Santana and the kids, before he put all his focus on his game. It seemed to pass in no time at all for him, with his strike out average better than he had even hoped. It was a great start for his first game of the season.

Santana and Antonia both cheered loudly, clapping and waving their arms, as Sam struck out the final batter. Antonia jumped up, not noticing that she stepped on Santana's foot in her enthusiasm, and hollered "Daddy Daddy Daddy WON" repeatedly.

Santana had to restrain Antonia from racing through the crowd down towards the field. Holding both kids' hands tightly, Santana carefully made her way down to greet Sam outside the dugout, buzzing with pride and excitement for him. Stevie had a great time at the game. Sammy did a great job and he had so much hotdogs that kept him smiling. After the game, he followed Tana and Toni to the dugout and jumped into his brother's arms.

"Sammy! You did so good!"

Their team won that day and that was the best feeling in the world. But it was nothing compared to the feeling of seeing his family's face though. They were smiling and congratulating him. He swooped Stevie into his arms and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you. I played well, because I knew that you guys were watching." He turned to Tana and kissed her sweetly. "Hey, babe. You look gorgeous." Then he put Stevie down and picked up Toni. "Hi Princess. Did you see me out there? Did you have fun with mommy and Stevie?"

Her face a full on grin, Santana kissed Sam back, short but intense, giving him a tight hug before letting him swoop up Toni. "You were amazing." Then, whispering where Toni can't hear, "And damn sexy. I want to slap that ass in those tight pants of yours."

"DADDY!" Toni hugged him around the neck, chattering away. "I ate a pretzel and a hot dog and Stevie was a big pig and ate a whole lotta hot dogs and I got a balloon only I dropped it and you were super cool out there!"

"I saw you. You did so good. I'm gonna tell my friends at school that my brother is Sam Evans. They're going to be so jealous," Stevie announced proudly and when he heard Toni, he rolled his eyes. "Sammy, she called me a pig. That's not nice!"

"Thank you…" Sam winked at Santana, chuckling when she swatted at his ass. "You're going to pay for that later…" His concentration went back to the kids. "Toni, it's not good to call people pigs. Stevie is a growing boy, he needs to eat a lot. You wouldn't like it if he called you a pig, right?"

"Toni." Santana swatted at her foot in reproval. "Tell him you're sorry."

Antonia's eyes widened as she spoke earnestly. "But he was a pig. He had lots of hot dogs. I'm a growing girl and I don't eat hot dogs like a pig."

"Toni!" Santana shook her head at her, tugging at her foot again as she spoke to Sam. "I wanna hear about how exactly I'm gonna pay, but maybe we should wait until the small fry are gone."

She looked up then, noticing that two women and one man were approaching, professionally clad with microphones in hand, and she nudged Sam. "I think they're coming to us…wow, Sam, I think they want to talk to you!"

"You're mean. I'm not going to share with you anymore. No more Ipad for you." Stevie grumbled, folding his arms.

He had been nice and sharing his stuff with Toni, and he knew how much she loved playing games on his Ipad mini. Now she was just going to have to pay for the consequences. He was not going to share with her anymore and he didn't care if she cried or not.

"But Princess, that's not nice… You shouldn't call people pigs." Sam could only shrug when Stevie said he wasn't going to share his Ipad anymore and turned his attention to Santana. "I'm a patient man. I can wait." He winked at her.

Sam was ready to go change, the only reason he was out here was because of his family, but before he could do that a few reporters came to talk to him. He smiled at them all and agreed to an interview.

"How do you feel about your start with the Yankees? Do you think they are satisfied with your performance? And who are people with you?

"Thank you. I'm very happy with my performance and I could only hope that my team feels the same." Sam hugged his family to him. "This is my family. This little lady here is my daughter, Toni," He tickled Toni's belly. "This is my little brother, Stevie." He ruffled Stevie's head. "And this beautiful Latina, is my Santana Lopez, she's my fiancee…: He winked at Tana and leaned a little so that he could give her a sweet kiss.

Antonia's mouth dropped, and she squawked indignantly, "But I am not neither mean! I just told the truth! You are very mean if you won't let me play!"

"Antonia. Until you apologize I'm not going to ask him to share and I'm sure Sam won't either." Santana raised an eyebrow at her. Antonia looked even more scandalized.

"MAMI! Now you are mean!"

They were distracted by the reporters coming up and Santana automatically moved closer to Sam, tugging Toni closer and holding her hand. She smiled as she was introduced, kissing him back, and spoke to them.

"I know his family is impressed with him in every possible way. His team has a find here in this guy."

Toni, thrilled with the new attention, beamed into the camera one reporter's staff member is aiming towards them, waving with new cheer.

"Hi! I'm Antonia Cristina Lopez and this is my new daddy! He is super awesome and he is the bestest baseball player ever! And now he made a bajillion dollars so we are super rich!"

"Antonia!" But Santana was trying not to laugh.

Stevie rolled his eyes at Toni when she refused to apologized. "Fine, you get no more Ipads." He huffed then smiled at the cameras and waved. He didn't say anything because Toni was busy hogging all the attention, so he settled for waving.

Sam smiled with pride. Nothing could beat this feeling. His family was proud of him and that was what really mattered. He chuckled at Toni's antics and simply kissed her cheek.

" Isn't she a doll?"

"You have a very cute family, Sam," one of the reporters said.

"Thank you. I love them all."

"No, Daddy, that's silly. I'm not a doll. I'm a girl. A big girl. Really big 'cause I can ALMOST tie my shoes now! Plus also I can count to 100 and I only forget numbers a little bit sometimes if I wasn't paying attention!" Antonia announced this proudly, still staring directly at the camera as though this were a daily and standard ocurrence in her life to talk to it. She beamed at the camera men as Santana did laugh this time, gently tugging her back.

"Pretty sure they want to hear about Daddy playing baseball and not what you can do, Toni."

"Oh, okay! Daddy plays baseball super awesome and they told us to move here all the way from Lima, Ohio, 'cause they wanna make him super rich and then me and Stevie can have whatever we want, and it don't even matter Stevie is mean and won't share his Ipad 'cause I can get one too with Daddy's rich money. Right Daddy? Right?"

Santana sighed, half smirking at the reporters. " If you want to know any actual facts about baseball I'm gonna have to take the kids for a hot dog or something. It's the only way you'll hear about Sam Evans from Sam Evans himself, long as this one is around."

Stevie couldn't even get a word in. Toni was hogging the spotlight the whole time.

"Typical…" he grumbled, rolling his eyes and stood out of the way so that the camera wasn't facing him anymore. He fidgeted around until Tana said something about bringing them to get hotdogs.

"Can we not get anymore hotdogs? I think my tummy's going to explode."

Sam couldn't help but chuckle at Toni. His little girl definitely knew how to draw attention to herself. The reporters were all chuckling, looking really pleased at the show Toni was putting on. As much as he loathed to be parted from Tana and the kids, the interview would go a lot smoother and not to mention faster, if he didn't have any distractions.

" Alright, Princess, you need to go with mommy and Stevie now. Daddy has things to do." He kissed her on the cheek and sat her on her feet. Then he ruffled Stevie's hair and kissed Tana sweetly on the lips. "This shouldn't take too long. I'll call you once I'm done."

He kissed her again and waved them off before continuing with the interview. A few of them congratulated him on his game and having his beautiful present, and he thanked them, feeling proud of not only his game, but also for being able to show off his skills to his family.

It took fifteen minutes for him to get cleaned after the interview. Once that was done, he called Tana and met up with them.

"Alright, who feels like having pizza tonight?

"Ooh… Pizza! I love Pizza!" Stevie cheered.

"I know you do, buddy, that's why I suggested it." He picked up Toni and kissed her nose. "What about you, Princess? You want some pizza too?"

Santana dragged the kids to look at the souvenir cups and T-shirts and ended up buying shirts for herself, Stevie, and Toni. She kept them occupied during Sam's interview, and when he came to find them, she kissed him again, still feeling so proud of him and what attention he's already bringing to his skills. Discussing the interview with him for a few minutes, she smiled after as the kids clamored for their pizza, Toni nodding enthusiastically as she detailed how she wanted chocolate chip pizza for dinner and showed Sam her new shirt. Walking beside them, Stevie's hand in hers, Santana smiled. It had been a good day.

88

It was now Sam's second game, and again, he had performed exceptionally well. Santana and the children had cheered and hollered for him throughout the late afternoon event, with Antonia narrating the game for an annoyed Stevie, as though he couldn't see for himself what was going on. Even Santana started to lose her amusement as Antonia continued to inform them that Daddy was pitching, "that guy just missed the ball," and "that guy is running very fast to that white flat thing!" practically nonstop.

She was thrilled when it was over for many reasons- not just because she was bursting with pride for her fiance and wanted to physically show her approval, but also because it meant Toni's monologue was coming to an end. Taking both kids' hands in hers, she manuevered her way through the bleachers, trying to make her way down to Sam outside the dugout, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She stiffened, turning her head, and then froze, every feature going taut as she saw who it belonged to.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she blurted out to her ex- Toni's biological father- even as Toni tugged on her hand.

"You said a bad word, Mami!"

"Well that's a fine way to talk around a child," Kyle shook his head as though disapproving, ignoring Stevie entirely as he zeroed in on Toni. "Your mama shouldn't talk like that around you, should she?"

"She isn't s'posed to," Toni agreed, nodding."But she forgets sometimes."

"Come on, Toni, Stevie," Santana said stiffly, trying to pull them away, but they were standing awkwardly on stairs, and she didn't want the children to fall. Kyle spoke to her again, his voice a drawl.

"What's your hurry? You don't want our child to get to know her own father?"

Again Santana froze, her back going rigid. She released Toni's hand, turning to face him very slowly before she spat out, "I don't know how you even found us or why you drove HOURS to come here but whatever the hell you want-"

"Time is nothing when it comes to your child," he said, smirking, as Antonia frowned, confused.

"Mami, this guy talks funny."

Stevie's throat was getting sore. No, he wasn't getting sick. Although, if he really thought about it, he was. He was getting sick of something. Okay more like SOMEONE named Antonia screaming in his ears. She was giving a play by play on what Sammy was doing as if Stevie and Tana were both blind. Stevie, not wanting to be rude, told her to hush up several times with a light tone, but as the game progressed, he was getting more and more irritated, until in the end, he turned to glare at her and said, "Do you ever not talk?"

By the time the game was over, all Stevie wanted to do was get out of there. But while they made their way to the dugout, a guy that they saw back at the restaurant a few months before showed up. He was saying things that didn't make any sense to Stevie and he was making Tana uncomfortable. Stevie decided to say something and tugged on Tana's hand. "Tana, you okay?" He asked this as he eyed the man suspiciously.

Meanwhile, Sam had just finished talking to the players and the coach, so he went towards where he knew Tana and the kids would be waiting for him. The minute, he saw them, his stomach dropped. Kyle was standing there, and he knew that the man was only here to create trouble.

Pretending not to be bothered by the man's presence, he walked over and wrapped both arms around Santana from behind, giving her a kiss on the cheek, "Hey, babe…" Then, he released her to reach out to Toni, picking her up and kissing her on the cheek. One hand was still protectively wrapped around Tana's waist. "How's my Princess doing?"

Stevie must have sensed that something was going on because he had a death grip on Santana's hand. Sam decided not to acknowledge the man and instead turned his attention to his family. "Well, I'm all done. Who's ready to go have some early dinner?"

Santana squeezed Stevie's hand back, her eyes on Kyle. She swallowed, trying to think of a response to give Antonia, a way to extract herself from the situation. She couldn't take off running when they were standing on steps and she wasn't strong enough to carry both children. She took a step back, noticing when Kyle stepped forward with her, as well as Antonia's curious eyes taking it all in before she announced, "Hey! I seen you before! You said I was pretty!"

"Good memory, kid," Kyle told Antonia. He reached out one hand, fingering the edge of her curl before Santana yanked her back hastily, almost causing Antonia to fall. Indignant, Antonia scowled up at her mother.

"Mami! You moved too fast!"

Santana was grateful to feel Sam's arms around her, though she initially panicked, stiffening up at yet another touch out of the blue. She relaxed when she heard his voice, and even more so when he had Toni in his arms, safely out of Kyle's reach. She picked Stevie up, squeezing him, and turned towards Sam, choosing to ignore Kyle as he was.

"We are. Let's go."

"Daddy, don't you remember this guy?" Antonia pointed out, pointing at Kyle. "I do!"

"She calls you her father?" Kyle said in a low, almost conversational tone, eyebrows raised. "Interesting. I don't see the family resemblance."

Stevie was big enough not to get carried, Sammy never really did that for him and he understood, but now Tana was carrying him and he knew instantly that something was wrong. "Tana, you okay?" He asked, looking worriedly at his sister. Lucky for them, Sammy was there, if anyone could make things better, it would be his brother. "I'm hungry. I didn't eat too many hotdogs this time…"

Sam had his eyes on Kyle. He wasn't going to let the man hurt Santana or Toni for that matter. "Yeah, I remember him." He smiled at his Princess. "But it's time to go eat. I'm sure that man has other things to do with his time." He added as a jibe at Kyle. "We can go eat, Stevie. You probably didn't eat the hotdogs because you ate too many the last time." He laughed to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, I got sick of them." Stevie replied with a sheepish laugh.

"Well, we'll eat something else for dinner." Sam reached over to ruffle Stevie's hair. He gritted his teeth at Kyle's remark before retorting with, "It takes more than blood to be a father, Kyle, but then again, what would you know about being a father, you've never been one."

Santana didn't answer Stevie. Not because she didn't hear him, having asked her twice now, but because she couldn't answer honestly, and she didn't trust her voice not to shake if she lied. She just squeezed him again, feeling her temples pulse and her stomach churn with dread and rage both as she tried to walk several steps back. Kyle didn't follow this time, ignoring the exchange between Stevie and Sam as he addressed Sam.

"And yet birth certificates are what count to the court. In fact, by law, my rights far outweigh yours, whatever fantasy you have the child believing."

Santana couldn't stop herself. She didn't want to talk about this, not now, not ever, and certainly not in front of her daughter. But she snapped, spitting back at the man with venom to her tone. "You lost all your rights when you called me a liar and a slut and walked away from me! You lost your rights when you suggested I get rid of my child! You lost your rights when you refused to see her or pay for her or show your face to do anything but piss me off and-"

"Mami," Antonia's little voice interrupting her was enough to finally make her cut herself off, stopping from saying too much as she looked between them. "Why are you so mad?"

Taking a shuddering breath, Santana met her gaze, swallowing again. "Don't worry about it, baby. I'm fine." Without even trying to make herself sound honest, gripping Stevie, she turned and walked away, trusting Sam to follow.

Stevie could sense Tana's distress. She didn't say anything, but he felt her squeezing him tightly and knew instantly that she wasn't comfortable. If that wasn't enough, her biting words confirmed it and that made Stevie sad and so he did the only thing that could help. He kissed her cheek and whispered, "It's okay, Tana, we love you…"

Sam has had it with this guy. He was not only disrupting the peace, he was also making things uncomfortable for every single one of them. If the kids weren't here, he'd have kicked his ass all around the field, but he couldn't do that. He had to set a greater example for the kids. Tana had blown up and walked off, and he wasn't going to stay a minute longer, so after sending Kyle a glare, he walked off too, hurrying towards Santana. "Babe, wait up…"

They walked in silence all the way to the car and they each buckled the kids in. Then, before Tana could get inside herself, he pulled her into a warm hug and kissed her forehead, "I'm sorry about that. I didn't know that he would be following us all the way here."

The little boy's kiss and kind words to her almost made Santana lose it. Tears stung the back of her eyes and clogged her throat, and she squeezed Stevie back, kissing his forehead, but didn't answer. As she helped Sam buckle the children into the car, Antonia too had gone silent, her eyes wide and worried as she watched her mother, and that hurt Santana's heart even more. For her chatterbox oblivious daughter to be concerned, this had to be bad.

As Sam embraced her, whispering his words of apology, she felt a shiver run through her spine, and it took all she had to hold back a sob. She hugged him fiercely, then pulled back, averting her eyes as she got in the car. Sam felt like he had failed Santana in the biggest way. He couldn't protect her like he promised that he would and that stung more than anything else. The hug was way too brief and his fiery fiancee didn't say a word to him. All she did was accept his hug before getting into the car.

Sam followed suit. After buckling in, he looked into the rearview mirror. "Guys, we're not going out to dinner tonight. I'll order us some takeout and put on a movie in the entertainment room, okay?" He smiled at them both slightly before starting the car and driving them all home.

The drive was silent, even his chatty Toni, didn't say a word and it kept on until after dinner and he set up the movie he had promised the kids in the entertainment room. Once he knew that the kids were distracted, he went into the room with Santana and asked, "Did you want to talk about it?" He was careful not to push, keeping his tone light because he didn't want to jar Santana even more.

As Sam had settled the kids into the entertainment room, Antonia had again looked up at her mother with concern, biting her lower lip unconsciously. Santana had wanted to snatch her up and breathe her in, to keep her close, but if she did, she knew she couldn't protect her from her own dark thoughts and feelings. As she backed away with Sam, avoiding his eyes too, she felt her shoulders slump under the gentleness of his voice, and she covered her mouth with her hand in a futile gesture to hold back the tears that had been present almost from the start. She tried to keep quiet as she choked out, "He fucking followed us, he was calling her his daughter, right in front of her, what the fuck is he doing, why is he HERE?!"

 **Sam couldn't help his next reaction. He pulled Santana close to him and began stroking her hair. There wasn't much he could do, but this, for now at least, "I'm sorry, babe… I didn't think that he would do something like this. We could put a restraining order against him, but maybe he did come to watch the game and just happened to see you guys there? We never know, Tana. This could just be a coincidence."**

 **He wanted to believe that his statement was true, but he knew better. There was no way that this was a coincidence. Kyle was following them and by the way he was claiming Toni as his child, Sam knew that he was up to no good.**

 **Santana let her head come to bow down against Sam's shoulders, her back shaking with her effort to suppress her tears against him. Her nails dug into his back as she shook her head fiercely. "I don't believe that. No, I don't. He doesn't give a shit about baseball, he's following me, Sam! Why is he following me, why does he keep saying that shit to Toni! There's no way he wants her after four years, he didn't even want me to have her!"**

 **Santana was going into panic mode now and Sam felt even worse about himself. He couldn't protect her. He couldn't protect Toni. What could he do at this point? Nothing but to talking soothingly to her. "We'll keep him away from Toni, there has to be a way out of this. Like I said, we can have a restraining order. He's harassing you and that's not going to fly with me. Don't worry about Toni, he won't be able to do anything. He's not even in the birth certificate."**

 **This wasn't enough to convince her. She shook her head again, sniffling. "We can't get a restraining order. They'll laugh at us. What will we say, Toni's biological father calls himself her father and says he wants to see her? He hasn't made any threats, they won't give a shit." She went stiff at Sam's last comment, sucking in a slow breath, and her voice was small when she spoke. "He is on the birth certificate. I…I didn't want Toni to grow up and think when she was older that I was such a slut I didn't know who her father was. I didn't want anyone to say that about us. And I thought maybe once she was born he would change his mind and want to see her…"**

 **If Sam held hope in the past, he felt all his hope evaporating in this single minute. There was nothing they could do. Kyle was on the birth certificate and according to Santana they couldn't even file a restraining order against him. "That can't be true. There has to be a way for me to protect you and Toni. I won't let him hurt you."**

 **He pulled her even closer and pressed a kiss on her forehead. Sam had to think of a way out of this. There had to be a way out and just when he thought that there was nothing left to be done, an idea struck him. "We'll get bodyguards. If we can't keep him at a distance, then the least I could do is have someone be with you guys whenever you're in public." This plan might have some holes in it, but it was the best he could do, at least when it came to last minute plannings.**

 **Santana let Sam hold her, her body going slightly limp against him as she took a breath, trying to relax. This plan didn't seem all that likely to her. "Sam, what is a bodyguard going to do, keep him from talking? Keep him from looking? I'm not scared he's going to steal Toni or hurt her, I'm scared he's going to just say shit to her over and over and harass us, and no one can stop that. She's already asking what he's talking about. I don't want to tell her about him. She's four years old, she's too little to hear that her father didn't want her. And what if she wants to see him?"**

 **Now, it felt like Sam needed Santana. He was afraid to lose her to all this. He was even more afraid that Kyle was going to do something and hurt Toni in the process. He couldn't picture not seeing the beautiful smile on his little girl's face. He had to do something, but if this idea he posed wasn't going to work out, then he had failed as a father and failure was a hard pill to swallow.**

 **"I don't know what you want me to do now. I can't protect you if you're not going to let me do anything, Tana. Do you think this is fun for me? I don't want to have to think about my little princess getting hurt. I hate even the thought of it, so I need you to help me out here. I need you to offer some solutions if you're only going to reject my ideas." He said, feeling frustrated now.**

 **Santana lifted her head, frowning at him. She doesn't understand his change in tone and gets a little defensive in response. "I'm not saying don't do it. I'm just saying I don't think it will work. Why are you being like that? I don't think it's fun for you but it sure is hell for me. I don't know what to do, I don't know what we can do!"**

 **Sam didn't want this to turn into an argument, but he was sick of having to come up with the solutions and having Santana shoot them down.**

 **"Well if it's not going to work, you tell me how to do things. You don't know what's going to work or not and yet you're immediately shooting my ideas down. I'm trying to help but if you don't want it then I won't say another word about it."**

 **"I don't know how to do things, Sam! I don't know! Didn't I just say that? I don't know, if I did I would tell you, but I don't! It's not going to help if you get all mad at me! I can't help what I did four years ago and I can't change it now so stop acting like this is my fault! Can't I have five minutes to be upset about this without you yelling at me? You didn't yell at him, why are you yelling at me?"**

 **Okay, so his voice wasn't raised, but it felt like yelling to Santana, and despite her defensiveness she was on the verge of tears again.**

 **Santana was blowing Sam's mind and not in a good way either.**

 **"I'm not yelling. I'm trying to help but all you're doing is making me feel terrible. I'm trying here, but you're not letting me in and I don't know what to do anymore." He didn't raise his voice, there was no need to. "I'm not deaf, Tana, you don't have to raise your voice." He folded his arms defensively and raised his brows, for once, he wasn't initiating contact, wanting instead for Santana to come to him when she wanted it.**

 **Santana's hands cupped her elbows, and her head lowered as her shoulders slumped. She blinked furiously, but tears spill over despite herself. She pressed her lips together firmly before she spoke, her voice shaking. "I don't know what to do, Sam. I feel like it can't ever be right and it's my fault. Please don't be mad at me, I'm already mad at me. I'm sorry, okay, I'm just…I'm scared. What if he can make it where he has to see her and she has to be alone with him and he tells her all kinds of lies and awful things about me? What if he changes her?"**

 **Sam listened, his heart breaking for his fiancee. She didn't want him to be mad at her and how could he be when she sounded so broken at the moment? Letting go of his own hurt, he moved close to Santana and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her forehead repeatedly and said, "I'm not mad. I just want to help. I don't want you to get hurt and I don't want to see Toni hurt too. Nothing will happen to her okay? I won't let him take her away from you. There has to be something I could do to make him go away. Maybe I can bribe him." It was a desperate man's attempt to make things right, but he had to try.**

 **Santana let herself melt into him, clutching at his shirt front. Burying her face in his neck, she took several breaths, trying to nod. "I know. I know. I'm sorry, okay? Sorry. I'm trying to get it together." She took another breath, kissing his shoulder. "He probably does want money."**

 **"It's okay. I just didn't want you to push me away." Sam said, feeling a little relieved that at least they were back on the same page now. He pushed her at arms length and stared down into her eyes. "So do you think I should bribe him? But what if he wants more after that? I wonder if we could get a lawyer involved in this… I mean, if we could get him to sign a confidentiality clause or something, that would make it illegal for him to harass us in the future."**

 **Santana snorted, rolling her eyes. "You can try babe, but he's enjoying having this to dangle over my head. I don't know…we should call a lawyer though, I guess. Just so we know our options and what's legal and what isn't. I don't even know. I'm just scared I'll find out he's in the right."** ****

**"We won't let him dangle anything. I'll call my lawyer tomorrow morning and I'll tell him what's going on. I hope he can come up with some type of resolution for us because I can't have that man terrorize my family." Sam said kissing Tana on the forehead again. "I just feel so useless now…Like I've failed you."**

 **Santana nodded slightly, taking another breath. "Yeah…okay. We'll do that. Call the lawyer." She sighed again, resting against him. "It isn't your fault. You didn't do anything. This is me. I got with the dick, I put his name on the certificate." She was quiet for a few minutes before saying softly, "I feel like I'm failing you. You never messed up this badly with anyone. I'm coming with all this baggage and I'm making it your problem."**

 **"Hey, you're not failing me, okay? You didn't tell him to be an asshole. He did that all on his own." Sam couldn't have Santana that this was her fault. It wasn't. She couldn't have known that Kyle was going to be such an asshole.**

 **"Alright, we need to stop talking about this." He said, standing up and helping Tana on her feet. "I say we join the kids in the entertainment room for that movie. They are probably wondering where we went to anyway."**

 **He didn't give her much of a choice in the matter. Sam simply, took her hand and led her back to the entertainment room. Once seated, he wrapped his arms around her and began watching the movie. For now, he was determined to forget about Kyle and the mess that he was starting with them.**


	20. Chapter 20

**So far Antonia had been at her new school for a few weeks and for the most part was enjoying herself. But of course, the best part of her day was recess. The pre-K and kindergarteners had recess at the same, and although she usually didn't play with Stevie, she was happy he was there. It gave her a sense of security to have him near, even though she wouldn't have said so. Plus she liked to holler across the playground at him to look at her when she was doing something she thought was particularly daring, like swinging super high.**

 **On this particular day, Antonia was waiting for her turn on the swings, pouting slightly because she hadn't run fast enough to get one first, when she noticed a familiar man hanging back on the playground's edge. Cocking her head curiously, she saw him motion her over, and she ran up to him, pointing.**

 **"I know you!"**

 **"Of course you do,smart girl you are," the man chuckled. He was the same one from the restaurant and the ball game with her mami and daddy. "Toni, right? I saw you running, you're very fast."**

 **"I am!" Toni said proudly,drawing herself up. "I am very,very fast! Wanna see me run some more!" She started running back and forth, looking to see that the man was looking. When he clapped for her, she grinned.**

 **"Very fast, you're right. Hey Toni, you remember how I know your mami, right? Would you mind me asking you a few things she forgot to tell me?"**

 **Stevie was not looking forward to recess today. Toni's class was going to be there and whenever she was, she would always do something to make him roll his eyes. She always knew how to embarrass him, waving her hands around when she would do something. Once, one of the kids in his class laughed at her and Stevie had to tell him not to. He didn't understand why he was protective of her. All he knew was that he didn't want anyone making fun of her. Well, except him of course. He's the exception.**

 **Today, he was expecting the same things to happen. Toni would do something silly and wave at him proudly. He would pretend like he was annoyed (even if deep down, he was smiling at her) and went about his time. But that didn't happen at all. The moment the bell rang and they were out in the playground, he saw him. The same guy from the baseball games. The guy that had made Santana sad.**

 **Stevie didn't like that guy and he didn't like that he was talking to Toni either, so he went to stand next to Toni. "You! What are you doing here?" He asked, glaring. His arms were folded and his eyes were shooting daggers at the man.**

 **"Toni, he's a bad man. He made Tana sad. Don't talk to him." He told Toni.**

 **Antonia looked up at Sam, frowning at him. "That isn't a nice thing to say. I don't think he's a bad man. I think he's nice. He says I'm pretty and run fast. Those are nice things to say."**

 **She looked up at Kyle, cocking her head. "You aren't a bad man, right? Did you really make my mami sad?"**

 **Kyle smirked back at Stevie, folding his arms over his chest in mocking attitude as he copied his posture. "Last I checked this is public property, kid. And you really should watch who you call names. Picking up habits from Santana, I see. And here you are calling me the bad one."**

 **He looked back at Antonia, gentling his tone. "Nah, I'm not bad. Your mami was sad because she knows that she's been keeping big secrets from you, and she knew I wanted to tell you the secrets. She thinks you're too little to hear, but you aren't little, are you?"**

 **"No! No, I'm big!" Antonia exclaimed, moving closer. "What big secrets? I wanna know!"**

 **Stevie glared at this man. He was saying mean things about Tana and he didn't like it. "Don't be silly, Toni. He's only saying those things to get close to you. What did we learn about strangers? What did your mommy say about talking to him?"**

 **All this while, he was staring daggers at the man, his stance remained the same. He was going to protect Toni at all cost. "You should leave Mister. This is a school and you are not a teach or parent. I'm gonna tell my teacher on you." He said in a huff.**

 **Antonia frowned, looking between Stevie and Kyle in confusion. "He isn't a stranger though. I've seen him three whole times now. I just can't remember his name is all."**

 **"It's Kyle," Kyle informed her, ignoring Stevie for the moment. "You're right, I'm not a stranger. In fact, your mami is keeping secret from you who I really am, because she feels guilty about it."**

 **Looking at Stevie, he said coolly, "Oh, is that what you think? Truth is, I am a parent, kid. I'm Toni's parent. I have every right to be here. It's your precious Tana who's keeping me from my rights." Looking back at Toni, he added, "That's what your mami isn't telling you, Toni. I'm your daddy- your really daddy."**

 **Antonia looked at him with wide eyes, her mouth dropping open. "You ARE?"** **Stevie didn't like this at all. Toni didn't understand that this man is bad. He had hurt Santana and yet she was still so trusting of him. That annoyed the little boy beyond words and now he was saying that he is Toni's daddy.**

 **"Toni! Don't listen to him. Sammy is your daddy. This man is not." He chided.**

 **Then he looked at the man. "I don't care what you say you are. You are not her daddy and you were mean to Santana. I don't like you. Go away now before I call my teacher!" He said this his voice raising and by now he had moved in front of Toni, to block the man from her.**

 **Sammy always said that he should protect Toni because he was bigger and he was doing that now.**

 **Antonia frowned, her eyes shifting between Stevie and Kyle in confusion, her mouth still open a little. She didn't know what to think. The man seemed nice to her but Stevie was upset, and he thought he had been mean to her mother. Her mami had been sad and mad when he was around…was he lying? Or was she sad and mad because this man really was her daddy? Why wouldn't she tell Antonia that?**

 **""But my daddy is Sammy," she told Kyle, bewildered. Then, tugging at Stevie's sleeve, she added, "But I had a different daddy too. Maybe they're both my daddies."**

 **Kyle held up his hands as though in surrender, already backing off. "It's the truth. You ask your mami and see what she says. No need to get all macho, kid, I'm gone. Just ask your mami though…ask her." And he started to walk off, leaving Antonia and Stevie looking after him.**

 **Stevie didn't falter. If this man was Toni's daddy, Tana would have said something. She didn't say anything and the little boy wasn't convinced that this bad man was not lying to them. "I don't know, Toni, you will have to talk to your mommy."**

 **He was thankful that Kyle didn't planned on staying. He was backing off and walking away within seconds. When Stevie saw that he was far away enough, he turned back to Toni and scolded her. "Why did you talk to him? He could have taken you away. Did you want to be taken away?"**

 **"He wouldn't take me away," Antonia argued, frowning back at Stevie. "He is too nice. He says nice things and he likes me a lot. What if he really is my daddy, Stevie?" The idea alarmed her as much as intrigued her, and her face scrunched up with worry. "What if Sammy can't be my daddy anymore 'cause Kyle is my daddy?"**

 **"That's what you think. They say that bad people act all nice to kids they want to take away. They give them candy and stuff before they take him away. He could take you away, Toni!" Stevie was angry now. He still didn't understand how Toni didn't see the danger in talking to that man. "I don't know, but you need to talk to Tana. Don't believe him until you talk to her. She's your mommy and she won't lie to you."**

 **"But if they're bad why would they give you candy? Bad people should give you bad stuff and be mean if they're bad." That's what makes sense to Toni. She folded her arms, getting a little huffy now that Stevie was so mad at her. "Are you mad 'cause I might get two whole daddies?"**

 **"Because they want you to trust them, dummy!" Stevie couldn't believe that he was arguing with Toni about this. It should just make sense to her, but it wasn't and it was making Stevie mad. "No, I don't care about your two daddies. I got Sammy and Tana. I'm don't care about daddies."**

 **"I am not a dummy! You're a dummy!" Antonia shouted back. Scowling at Stevie, she narrowed her eyes. "I'm telling mami and daddy you called me a dummy."**

 **"You are a dummy. You talked to that man. I'm gonna tell Tana and she's going to spank you." Stevie shot back, scowling back at Toni. "I'm not scared of you. You should be scared of that man. He was a bad man."**

 **"I am not! My mami will not. She'll spank you!" Antonia was getting loud now, stomping her feet. "You are super mean to me!"**

 **"No she won't! Your butt is gonna get spanked!" Stevie retorted, glaring at the girl. "You're being dumb!"**

 **His teacher came to them to stop the shouting match that was happening. She told them both that she was going to have to tell Tana about what happened and he didn't even care. He knew this time that he wasn't in the wrong.**

 **That afternoon, when Tana came to pick them up, he was the first one to speak up. "Tana, Toni talked to that bad man. He said that he was her daddy. I told her not to talk to him cause' he's a bad guy, but she won't listen. So I called her a dummy." Stevie said all this in one breath, not even worried that she might have missed what he was telling her.**

 **As soon as she saw her mother, Antonia too clamored to get in her own tattling. Tugging at her Santana's arm, she informed her, "Stevie called me a dummy a LOT and said I needed a spanking! I think he needs a spanking, mami, don't you? Don't you? Are you gonna give him a spanking now?"**

 **But Santana wasn't listening to Toni. She had eyes only for Stevie then. Mouth dropping, she knelt down in front of him, taking hold of his shoulders and holding on intently. "The man from the ball game? He came here, to this school? When? Where? He was talking to Toni?" Her heart was racing, and already fury and panic had her shaking with adrenaline. Kyle had been around her daughter when she wasn't even there?!**

 **Stevie ignored Toni and was going to go into another rant but right now he couldn't because Tana was asking him a million questions. "Yes. That's the same man. The man that was making you sad. He came to talk to Toni during recess and he said that he's Toni's daddy. Is he Toni's daddy?" She asked the last part with child like wonder.**

 **Santana struggled to process this, not letting go of Stevie and not answering him at first. She barely even heard his question. She wanted then to storm out the parking lot and hunt Kyle down and cause him physical harm with her bare hands, if not her car, but she couldn't and she knew it. Instead she took in a shaky breath, suddenly letting go of Stevie, and turned on Toni, who had been tugging at her,miffed she was being ignored. Shaking her off, she started to raise her voice, almost shouting.**

 **"Antonia Cristina,if that man ever comes near you again don't say a word to him. Not one word!"**

 **Antonia frowned up at her, her brow furrowed, lips puckering. She wasn't used to her mother looking at her so angrily,like she was ready to hit her,and didn't comprehend it was more so Kyle that she was so upset with. She blinked back tears, sidling closer to Stevie as though for protection.**

 **"He didn't look bad…he said he was my daddy."**

 **Stevie hadn't realized that Tana was holding on to him at first. He was more concerned about getting Toni's butt into trouble. It was only after he almost stumbled that he caught on to what Tana was doing. He had every intention on making Toni pay for what she did, but then he saw her reaction. She looked so scared and was moving close to him as if asking for protection. "Tana, let her go." He said in a weak voice.**

 **Santana wasn't even touching Antonia, but Antonia regardless hooked her fingers into Stevie's shirt, hiding behind him. Seeing how scared the children looked, Santana tried to calm down, taking a deep breath. Closing her eyes briefly, she knelt down again, touching both their arms.**

 **"Stevie…Toni…I'm just upset because I hate thinking of you not being safe. I don't want you to talk to that man. If he comes up to you again, come get me or Sam or your teacher."**

 **"Mami…why did he say he's my daddy?" Toni asked in a small voice, and Santana froze. She didn't want to answer, but she didn't want to lie either.**

 **Stevie's words seemed to calm Tana down a little. She was speaking in a softer tone now and not acting all scary anymore. He nodded at her and said, "I promise. Toni, you need to promise too, okay? That man is bad. I told you he is." He only did that so that she wouldn't get even more trouble, but Toni was Toni after all. Who knows what she was going to say…**

 **Wide eyed, Toni nodded, still clutching Stevie with one hand. She stuck her thumb in her mouth with her other as she looked up at her mother. Santana reached for them both, hugging them both to her, and prayed they couldn't feel how fast her heart was beating. When she released them, standing, she took their hands in firm grips and walked to the car, texting Sam the minute they were buckled in.**

 **Santana:THAT BASTARD WAS AT THEIR SCHOOL SAM!**

 **Sam:Are you kidding? This is ridiculous. How could the school just let him in like that?**

 **Santana:He was at the playground! He's stalking them!** **  
Sam:We need a bodyguards for them, babe. This is crazy!**

 **Santana:He told Toni he's her father. Again. She's asking questions, SAm, both of them are!** **  
Sam:It's time you tell her the truth, Tana.**

 **Santana:She's four years old.**

 **Santana:She's four, Sam.**

 **Santana:How do you tell a four year old her father didn't want her and now he's acting like he does just to hurt me?** **  
Sam:I know how old she is, Tana.**

 **Sam:I don't like that you have to do this, but sometimes you need to tell them the hard truths.**

 **Sam:Do it before she end up resenting you.**

 **Santana:What am I supposed to say?**

 **The children were very quiet as Santana drove them home, which would have been enough to raise her suspicion or alarm if she didn't already know what the problem was. There was no pinching or pushing or tattling, no name calling or kicking, and in fact, when she looked back in the rearview mirror at them, she saw that the hand that wasn't sticking Toni's thumb in her mouth was nestled securely in Stevie's. And even more remarkable, Stevie wasn't pushing her away.**

 **She had scared the children in how she had acted towards them this afternoon, after what they told her about Kyle. Santana knew that, and she hated it, hated to think that her daughter would ever think that she would slap her face or really scream at her for something she hadn't understood. Santana didn't want to talk to her about why she was really so upset, but she knew it was needed, and so she took several deep breaths as she drove, steeling herself for it, and hating Kyle every mile closer to home for what he was making her have to do.**

 **As they pulled up into the driveway, she got out first, helping the kids undo their seatbelts and lifting Toni out of her booster seat. She took hold of her hand, giving her a smile as she gently tugged her fingers out of her mouth and addressed Stevie.**

 **"Stevie, Toni and I need to have a talk, so I'm going to get you a snack, and then I want you to play with your game or watch TV while we go up to her room. Call for me if you need me."**

 **She waited for Stevie to nod his compliance before she got Toni's snack, brought it with her into the living room, and set it on the coffee table, sitting down with her. She waited for Toni to finish and texted Sam several times for support before she faced her, taking a deep breath, and reached out to squeeze her hand.**

 **"Toni, I know you have a lot of questions about the man you saw at school and at the game and in the diner back in Ohio. He's been saying some strange and confusing things to you, and you don't know what to think. Well, I have some very important things to tell you, and I need you to listen like a big girl for me and try to understand."**

 **She took another breath, her stomach taut, already fighting emotion, and looked down at her daughter's wide, confused eyes. Swallowing, she pulled Toni into her lap, smoothing back her hair from her forehead and wrapping her arms around her. She wanted to feel her daughter close to her for her own comfort more than Toni's as she explained to her what Santana herself could barely begin to understand.**

 **"Toni, that man wasn't lying to you when he said he was your father. He is your father. He was the other person that helped you be born into this world with me. But Sam is your daddy now. Being a father and a daddy are different things. A father is someone that helps make a baby be born. A man can be a father, but not a good daddy. Sam isn't your father, because he didn't help you be born. But he is your daddy. A daddy is someone who loves you and takes care of you and protects you. A daddy tucks you in at night and reads you stories and helps you when you're hurt or sick. Sam is your daddy and he loves you so much. But Kyle is your father."**

 **Antonia looked up at her with solemn eyes, her brow puckered with her confusion as she tried to understand. Santana hugged her, thinning her lips, and waited for the explosion of questions she knew would come.**

 **"But if Kyle is my father, how come he's not my daddy too? Don't some people have a guy who is a father and a daddy? How come I get a father and a daddy?"**

 **Santana paused, trying to think of how to answer this. In the end the truth was all she could come up with.**

 **"Toni, Kyle could have been your father and your daddy. But he didn't want to be. When you were just a little baby in my stomach, and I didn't know if you would be a boy Tony or a girl Toni yet, Kyle told me that he didn't want to be your daddy. He told me that he wouldn't help me with you and then he left me and didn't talk to me again."**

 **She looked down at Toni, watching her response, and wasn't surprised when her eyes filled up with tears. Toni's voice shook as she said in a soft tone, "He didn't want to be my daddy? Didn't he like me none?"**

 **Her heart hurting for her daughter, Santana kissed her nose, hugging her close to her again, and stroked her hair. "Baby, he didn't even know you to know if he liked you or not. He just wasn't ready to be a daddy, anyone's daddy. We were very young and your father didn't want to have to take care of anyone but himself. I know that's a lot for you to understand but it wasn't your fault and it didn't have anything to do with you. You're a special, amazing, smart, beautiful girl, you're Sam's princess and my baby, and your father has been missing out all this time. The reason that Sam chose to be your daddy is because he knows who you are, he knows how wonderful you are and he loved you so much he picked you out of all the little girls in the world. Just like I picked that I wanted to be not just your mother but your mami."**

 **She watched Antonia trying to digest this and understand, still blinking back tears, her lips puckered up. Santana poked her lips gently, trying to make her smile, and cuddled her as Toni finally spoke again.**

 **"So does he want to be my second daddy now? Is that how come he's talking to me saying he's my daddy? Did he change my mind 'cause he thinks I'm awesome too?"**

 **Santana bit the inside of her cheeks, again trying to figure out how to break the news to Toni gently.**

 **"Baby, I'm sure he can see how awesome you are, but it's too late for him to be your daddy even if he wanted to be. And the reason he really wants to see you is just like Stevie said, because he's not a very nice man, and he might not be safe. You don't need to talk to him. I know he's your father, but just like we don't talk to people we don't know without an adult with us, you don't talk to your father without me or Sam with you. He is very mad at me and he might do something mean or silly because of that, and that wouldn't be fair to you. I want you to not talk to him and let me know if you see him again."**

 **Antonia seemed to be thinking about this, and then she put her arms around Santana's neck and snuggled in, resting her head against her chest.**

 **"I don't like that, mami. I don't like him being mean to you and mad at you when you've been my very good mami and he wouldn't even be my daddy. I think he's mean not to be my daddy."**

 **Santana kissed the top of her head, cuddling her back. "I know, baby. I think so too. And that's why you need to know how lucky you are that Sam is your daddy and a good daddy to you, because he didn't have to be, but he wanted to be."**

 **"I'm glad you're my mami too," Antonia said earnestly, still cuddling close. "You didn't have to be my mami just like Kyle isn't my daddy but you were anyway. So thank you for being my good mami. I love you very much and I'm glad you're my mami and not someone else."**

 **Santana felt her eyes fill with tears, but she blinked them back, not wanting Antonia to misunderstand. Kissing her daughter again, she nodded.**

 **"I'm glad too. I'm so glad that you're my little girl and I'm your mami."**

 **And she was. Kyle really didn't know what he was missing.**

 **Santana was still reeling a little from her talk with Toni. She had sent her to play games with Stevie and had focused on chores just to keep her mind off it. Putting down the dish she had been loading into the dishwasher, she turned into Sam's embrace and kissed him back, sighing.**

 **"He's an underhanded asshole. I talked to Toni.** " 

Sam kept hugging Santana, kissing her neck, the act both calming him down and trying to do the same for his fiancee. He pulled back a minute later and looked into her eyes. " What did Princess say? She wasn't mad, was she?"

Santana calmed further with his touch, leaning into him. She sighed, biting her lip, and spoke softly at his question. "She wasn't mad. She wanted to know if her father didn't like her. She was sad, a little. But then she hugged me and said she was glad I was her mami and her mother and thanked me. And now I just want to cry because she shouldn't have to thank me for wanting to be her mami."

 **"Kyle is an idiot. How could he not love his own daughter?" Sam was happy to hear that Toni hadn't made a fuss. He smiled, feeling proud of his little girl and how kind she was turning out to be. "She's a good girl and she's proud of you. Hell, I'm proud of you. You've done a great job raising her, Tana. Be proud of that." He kissed her forehead. " If you want to cry, I'm right here."**

 **"I think she thought she did something wrong before she was even born that would make him not want her. She's confused. I mean, how can a kid understand that her parent didn't want her? Kids can only make sense of it by thinking it has to be their fault." Santana tried to smile, but it went a little wobbly and she pressed her face into his chest. "Shit. Sorry. I just...god, I hate that my baby has to think for even a second that it's her fault that he's a shitty person who's too damn selfish to care about her."**

 **"It's not her fault and maybe I should have a talk with her too. She's my daughter now too, even if she's not legally mine, she's my daughter and she needs to know that she's precious and that we love her. Kyle is an idiot for not seeing her as the beautiful girl that she is." Sam pulled Santana close to his chest and kissed her forehead. "It's not. Nothing is her fault, maybe you're just worried for nothing. Maybe she really is fine with everything."**

 **"I know it's not. I think she's okay. I really do." Santana blinked into his chest, still unsettled, before whispering, " I think I'm not right now though."**

 **"So you're the one who's really upset now?" Sam sighed, looking into her eyes. "What can I do for you? I hate when you're sad. It makes me feel useless."**

 **Santana nodded, trying at first to avoid his eyes, but then giving in and letting him see hers, that they're teary. " Just hold me a while?"**

 **"Okay… " Sam held Santana in his arms. He couldn't do much for her, but right now, he could hold her. "It will be okay, Tana. It will be okay."**

 **She took a few minutes to gather herself before finally lifting up her head with another breath, looking up at Sam. "Okay…we need a plan. What do we do now?"**

 **Sam let Santana have her moment and simply held her in his arms. "We do need a plan. First thing is we need to get something done about Kyle. He cannot come to Toni again. God knows what else he's capable of the next time…"**

 **"So body guards? Or restraining order?" She pulled back, running a hand through her hair.**

 **"We could do both if it will make you feel better."**

" **I want to at least try."**

 **"Okay, we can do both. I'll start putting out ads for the bodyguard and I'll call my lawyer, he should know how to go about getting a restraining order."**

 **"Okay," Santana exhaled, giving him another squeeze. "Should I tell Mami?"**

 **"You probably should. Maybe we should fly her out here. She should be able to watch the kids when you and I aren't here," Sam told her, squeezing back.**

 **"She has a job, babe…should she really come? I'd like her to though."**

 **"I know, but I can help to take care of her bills. You need her right now. That's what's important." Sam pulled Santana back into his arms and kissed her on the forehead.**

 **This was true. Santana wanted her mother with her, with Toni and Stevie, and she smiled back at Sam, grateful he knows this and understands. "Yeah. I guess I do. "**


	21. Chapter 21

**Kyle was pissed when he found out that he couldn't go to the school anymore. He had his work cut out for him now that Antonia had a bodyguard following her around. He found a small loophole though, in the form of her dance class. She had it every Wednesday and he knew for a fact that she would be alone. He felt smug as he walked towards the class that day, no one was going to stop him, this was going to be a good day. He waited outside for a few minutes and when the class was starting to get full, he entered the room. He scanned the room and found Antonia right away, but his plan was foiled when he saw that Maribel was standing next to Antonia.**

 **"What is that old hag doing here?"**

 **Maribel had come up to stay with her daughter and her family only the day before, and she had been more than happy to admire their new home and city. When Antonia had reminded her mother that she had her tap dance lesson today, a fact that had slipped Santana's mind, Maribel had offered to take her, eager to watch her granddaughter's "super awesome moves." Santana had let her, figuring it would give her and Sam time to spend alone with Stevie, something the boy deserved but didn't get much from both at once.**

 **Maribel had watched her granddaughter with a smile, blowing a kiss occasionally when Toni turned around eagerly for her approval. The little girl was trying so hard her tongue was often sticking out, along with her backside as she followed her instructor's directions and movements the best she could. Santana had told her about Kyle, and she recognized him even before he spoke, though he had made himself scarce while dating her daughter. She turned, keeping her voice low and level as she addressed him, so as not to make a scene.**

 **"Watching the child that's been entrusted into my care. Something you missed the boat on four years ago. I suggest you leave now, before another vehicle of sorts comes to claim you."**

 **Kyle rolled his eyes at the older woman. She shouldn't even be talking to him. "I'm not doing anything to hurt or harm her. You can't tell me where I can or cannot be… You don't own this studio. Now I suggest you mind your own business and stop worrying about me, old lady."**

 **For now Toni still wasn't paying attention, concentrating on her steps, but that might change if this continued, and Maribel knew it. Stepping closer to Kyle, she lowered her voice further, but not losing its intensity. "You are harming her. You are confusing and scaring her and making her life entirely too stressful for a four year old child. That child is my business, and is no longer yours. I may not own this studio but I do know that the lady who does will not take kindly to a strange man coming in to watch a little girl who doesn't belong to him."**

 **"I am doing no such thing. Your daughter is a liar. She lied to Antonia about who I am. Now she has the girl calling another man daddy?" Kyle scoffed, keeping his tone down, so that he wasn't disturbing the peace. "If anyone is harming and scaring her, it's your daughter. She's the problem in all this. Not me." Maribel was trying to threaten him and one thing that Kyle didn't take lightly to was threats, "I am her father. If they try to throw me out, I will sue them."**

 **Maribel's eyes blazed, and her expression was mother bear fierce now as she rounded on Kyle. It was one thing for him to make vague threats, but for him to directly discredit her daughter was something else. "My daughter has done everything she could to love and protect her child the best she could and no one could have done a better job. You lost your right to that little girl the moment you called my daughter a liar and implied she was a whore who didn't know the father of her child. You lost your right to her the moment you told my daughter that she should get rid of that precious little girl that you wouldn't claim to be yours. You have no rights to that child. You cannot walk out of her life before it even existed and then come back four years later on a whim. She has a life now and you are not a part of it. What is it that you truly want here, young man? Attention? Petty vengeance? Or my daughter's money? That would be my bet here, because it certainly isn't that child."**

 **Kyle was fed up with this old hag. All he heard was her yapping his ears off and he was in no mood to hear her. He was Antonia's biological father and there was no way that he would let her or Santana push him away.**

 **"Lady, you need to stop talking to me and even if you money is being offered to me, you are not the one who is going to pay me, so why do you care? You can't tell me that I can't see my own child. You have no proof that I am harming her. I on the other hand, can go to court and sue for custody." He tapped his chin and smiled deviously. "That's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm bringing this to the courts. Antonia is my daughter too and I have the right to see her and have her present in my life." Kyle felt so smart then. He thought that he had everything figured out.**

 **"I care because she is my own grandchild, and her mother is my child, a child I actually raised and loved and cared for, as you refused to do the for Antonia," Maribel hissed, barely remember to suppress her voice as she stepped closer to Kyle,drawing herself up to her full but not very impressive height. "No court in this world would choose you to parent her, given your history. You are doing this to hurt Santana and get yourself something, this isn't and never has been about Antonia!"**

 **Kyle wasn't at all impressed or worried by this woman. He knew his rights and he was going to use it to get what he wanted. Her yelling only made him laugh. "Now, who's making the scene now? I should ask them to kick you out of here…" He said scoffing at her. "Stop talking about the past, old woman. I'm here now and I can assure you that I will win if I fight this. I have a job, I have no records and I have my own place. Why would the courts deny me my rights?" He lowered his head, so that he could hiss at the woman, "Don't pretend to act as if you know me. You don't. All I want from this is my daughter."**

 **Maribel took a breath, gathering her temper. Her eyes rolled up as though she were praying for patience before she looked Kyle in the eye, speaking evenly. "You are a selfish person, and moreover, you are still a child, mucking about in the life of someone who actually still has the right to be a child. If you truly want what is best for Antonia, then you will leave, or at the very least you will prove that you are worth being in her life. And this is not the way to do it."**

 **"Why should I leave?" Kyle asked cockily, his arms folded in defiance. "I did nothing wrong. Stop telling me what to do and talking about my intentions. You don't know me. I don't know you. Stop judging me." He rolled his eyes.**

 **At this point, they have finally caught the attention of Antonia, who had looked over to see if her grandmother was watching her. Seeing Kyle, her eyes grew wide, and she stopped dancing, pointing as she called out in a loud whisper. "'Buela, that's the man Mami said I can't talk to! The one who won't be my daddy!" Most of the other little girls looked up curiously.**

 **Kyle didn't want to make a scene, not today. But their heated argument had caught the attention of Antonia and she was pointing at him, making him feel like he was a villain. He shook his head and scowled at Maribel. "This isn't over. Tell your precious daughter that I'm going to fight this and I won't stop until I've won."**

 **After saying those words, he walked out of the dance class. Kyle was more determined now to make Santana pay, and he was going to make sure that she paid in the biggest way…**

 **Now frowning, frightened and concerned, Antonia abandoned the line of children before the mirror, running with loud clapping of her tap shoes over to Maribel. Looking up at her anxiously, she held onto her wrists, saying, "'Buela, Mami says I can't talk to him. Mami says he's not nice. How come he keeps comin' to see me?"**

 **Exhaling, straightening her face out the best that she could, Maribel lifted Antonia to her hip and smoothed back her hair, keeping her voice low so the other children wouldn't overhear. "Mi nieta, there is nothing for you to worry about, you do what your mami tells you and we will always keep you safe. Go back and do your dancing now, carina, I want to see." She kissed Antonia's forehead and watched the little girl look back at her worriedly before joining the other children, trying to suppress her anger and concern. Not just for Antonia, but for Santana.**

88

 **Texts**

 **Santana: God, I'm so tired. I swear all I want to do this week is sleep.**

 **Sam: You've been saying that all week. I'm worried about you, Tana. Maybe you should see the doctor.**

Santana: **It's fine. I'm just kind of tired and achy. It will wear off soon. It better anyway.**

 **Sam: You're young, Tana. You shouldn't have aches and pains yet. I'm just scared that it's something else. Something bad…**

Santana: **We have two little kids, babe. They come home with snotty noses and tummy aches all the time, they probably just carried something home to me. If I still feel weird tomorrow I'll take a day off.**

 **Santana: Scared I'm gonna infect you?**

 **Sam: Not funny. I can't lose you. I don't know what I'd do if something bad were to happen to you.**

 **Santana: Nothing bad is going to happen to me. Jeez, it's not like someone poisoned me.**

 **Santana: No one did, right? I did get kind of nauseous when Toni was waving her tuna fish sandwich around.**

 **Sam: Don't even joke about that.**

 **Sam: No, the kids are fine. Wait, you got nauseous from her sandwich? That's weird… When did you start hating tuna?**

 **Santana: Fine, fine, sorry.**

 **Santana: I don't know, it just smelled nasty to me. Like it was bad. I told her not to eat it but she said it tasted okay. She didn't get sick.**

 **Sam: There is something going on with you and we need to find out what it is. I don't have to be anywhere tomorrow. I'll take you to the clinic and don't try to argue with me. You're going.**

Santana: Whatever. **Can I put Stevie to bed tonight? He's calmer and he doesn't beg for ten thousand stories, you can have Toni.**

 **Sam: Fine, I guess I can put Princess to bed tonight, but you owe me…**

Santan: **Oh, you love putting her to bed. You love Toni snuggles and how she rubs her eyes all pouty saying she's not sleepy when she's yawning with every breath.**

 **Sam: Hardly. She's the hardest one to put to bed. I'd rather put Stevie to bed. He just goes to sleep, no muss no fuss. I do love her though even if she's a pain like her mama.**

Santana: **Hey! I know when it's sleep time. I have no problem with sleep.**

 **Sam: Yes, you do, but you're fussy with other stuff and you know it too. I bet you were just like Toni when you were a little girl.**

Santana: **I was not.**

 **Santana: I was worse.**

 **Sam: Ha! I knew it.**

 **Santana: Well how could I help it? I was around my abuela as much as my mami, she was a bad influence.**

 **Sam: Oh sure… Blame the poor old woman. I know the truth.**

 **Sam: I bet you were a cute little girl.**

 **Santana: Obviously I was. And if you think my abuela is a poor old woman, you obviously never met her. Woman knows more insults than a truck driver.**

 **Sam: Oh wow, maybe I shouldn't meet her then. She sounds scary.**

Santana: **She kinda was. I never backtalked her. I bet even Toni wouldn't.**

 **Sam: I only knew my grandparents on my mom's side. They live in Florida now. My dad's parents passed away when I was 2. They had him late…**

 **Santana: I don't know my grandfathers. Just my abuela really. She's not real thrilled with me, what with the bi thing.**

 **Santana: That's too bad for her. You can't be anyone but yourself, so I'm glad that you stuck through to your principles.**

Santana: **She's never met Toni.**

 **Sam: Is she even still alive?**

Santana: **Yeah. I ask Mami sometimes. She is. She won't talk to Mami much either, but she is.**

 **Sam: Oh… So she's not talking to your mom too? She's one mean woman…**

Santana: **Mami stuck up for me. She never liked Mami anyway. My father was her son.**

 **Sam: And what happened to your father?**

 **Santana: When I got pregnant, he and my abuela disowned me. Mami was so mad at him she left him,and he hasn't talked to me since. He hasn't met Toni but one time and it was by accident, I ran into him in public.**

 **Sam:Are you serious?**

 **Sam: He's a dumbass, and that's his loss… I would never disown our children for getting pregnant. That would be dumb.**

 **Santana: I would never do that to my children. Ever.**

 **88**

 **After her semi realization with Antonia, Santana waited the next morning until the children had been taken to school and they had arrived back home before her appointment with the doctor before approaching Sam. Taking a deep breath, much more nervous than she had expected to be, she reached for his hand as they walked through the front door.**

 **"Sam, I need to tell you something."**

 **Sam had just placed the keys on the coffee table when he heard Tana. He sat down, bringing her along with him before asking, "What's wrong, babe? Are you sick again?" He places the back of his hand against her forehead and fusses over her. She wasn't warm or anything, so it couldn't be a fever. He wondered now if something was really wrong with her.**

 **"No, I'm okay."**

 **Although it was true that she had thrown up in the morning after smelling the cranberry juice she had thought she wanted for breakfast. She leaned into his touch, trying to take comfort from it, to convince herself that Sam wasn't going to be mad at her. Still, a part of her was afraid that he was going to be, illogical as it was, and she took another breath before saying, "All this stuff I've been feeling lately, it happened before. Before Toni." She met his eyes, letting him take a moment to make the connection on his own.**

 **"Okay…" Sam frowned. This was the oddest thing. How could she be sick one minute and not the other? "What do you mean by that?" He asked even more confused than ever. Was he missing something crucial?**

 **Santana had to resist a smile. Sam's stubborn face was entirely adorable. She took pity, spelling it out. "I mean that I think it's pretty possible I'm pregnant, babe."**

 **"You're pregnant?" Sam's eyes bugged out. He was shocked by this. Could Santana really be carrying his child? He should be scared, but right now, he wasn't. It excited him more than anything.**

 **Santana frowned, her heart skipping a beat at his expression. She gripped his hand tightly, biting her lip. "I don't know yet for sure. I just think…maybe."**

 **"You have to be. I think that you are. You're pregnant, Tana. You have to be!" Sam was almost bouncing up and down now. The idea of becoming a dad, and having a child with Santana was exciting. "Oh my God, we have to childproof this place. There's so many hazards around here." He said this panicking even though he wasn't sure if she was really pregnant.**

 **Santana blinked, staring at him, and then slowly started to smile. "So…you're not upset? It's okay if I am?"**

 **"Upset? Why should I be upset?" Sam asked this, looking at Tana strangely. Then it hit him. Kyle. He probably acted like a jackass in the past. Well, he wasn't Kyle and he didn't want Tana thinking that he would ever be like the other man. "I'm not Kyle. I love you and I would love you even more if were pregnant." He told her sincerely before placing a kiss on her soft lips.**

 **Santana's body almost melted with her relief, and her arms came around him tightly then, pulling him to her in a fierce embrace. She was surprised to realize tears were in her eyes, and she blinked them back before looking up again and giving him a second kiss. "This is going to change so much."**

 **Sam hugged Santana to him, smiling at the thought of being a father and having another little one running around. Sure, he was young, but they were also financially stable to welcome a child into their lives. Things were going to be just fine, he suspected. "What is?"**

 **"Everything. You'll have a child, Sam. Your child. I'll have a child with you. We're a family already, I know, but this will be like…I don't know, our bridge? And we'll have to tell the kids, and my mother is going to lose her shit, you know she's gonna practically hyperventilate with joy…it's a baby. A whole other person. It will just be different."**

 **Sam actually laughed out loud. Santana was going on and on. "You're excited too, aren't you? This is going to be great, babe. We're going to have a baby!"**

 **She hadn't been excited until this moment. Mostly she had been nervous and afraid. But now that Sam was not only accepting it but happy, she was starting to feel it herself. "We don't know YET, babe. Wait until the doctor says it before you start blowing up balloons."**

 **"Oh, I know you are. You're sick for no reason and you said you were sick like this with Toni too. We're pregnant, babe. You have to be." He told her confidently.**

 **Santana just smiled, hiding her face again. After a few moments she lifted it up, looking to him. "Do you want a boy or girl? If we are."**

 **"I don't care. Either one is fine by me." Sam's eyes lit up. "Ooh… What if it's twins? You could be carrying two babies right now."**

 **Santana's eyes widened with no small amount of horror at this, and her hands flew to protectively cover her stomach. "Don't even say that!"**

 **Sam laughed, the look on Santana's face was priceless. "Okay… Okay… No twins, but you know I wouldn't mind that. Two babies at once. That's a dream come true."**

 **"Oh hell no, it's a nightmare. Sam, you ain't the one having your stomach stretched out like a planet and you're not the one squeezing a giant cantelope head out your privates, and you never had to wake up six times in one night because Miss Cranky Pants was hungry or bored or had an ear ache or was teething. No, no two babies, never." Santana shook her head for emphasis.**

 **"Hey, with money, we could get help. But okay, no twins. I don't want you to have to be uncomfortable." He said before kissing her on the cheek.**

 **"Help?" Santana was uncomfortable with that idea. Other than her mother sometimes, no one had ever helped her with Antonia. "I'm not having someone else raise my child."**

 **"They don't have to raise the baby, they can help out when you need to go out or sleep or something. That's what rich people do, I'm guessing…" Sam stated, correcting Santana.**

 **"I know, but I should raise my own baby. I should do everything. I did that with Toni." Santana was firm on this. In her mind, not being with her child like she had with Toni would mean she didn't parent her as well or love her as much.**

 **"Okay, you need to calm down. If you want to do it all on your own, then I'm not going to force you to. I just thought you might want some help…"**

 **Santana stepped back from him slightly, looking up at him as she explained. "I gave all of me to Toni. I was her world and I did everything she needed. I don't want to not do that for my second child. It wouldn't be fair. How could I know I didn't give as much, it would be like I didn't love it the same." It wasn't entirely logical, but this was what she was worried about.**

 **"Tana, you're freaking out, I need you to slow down and not freak out. It was a suggestion. I didn't mean to rile you up." Sam said, walking over and reaching out to her. "It's okay. You can take care of our baby just like you took care of Toni. I'm sorry I upset you." He told her this in a soothing tone while stroking back her hair.**

 **Santana took a breath again when Sam comforted her, letting him pet her. She leaned into him again, softening her tone. "This is just…last time, this was so scary, Sam. I know it's different now. I'm older and I know I can be a mom, and I'm not alone. I know. But it still makes me think of last time and last time I didn't know what I was doing at all."**

 **"You don't have to be scared. You have me now. I'll be here with you. I can't help you carry our baby, but I'll be here to make runs to the store when you're having a craving. I'll be here to hold your hair if you feel sick and I'll be here to love you. Don't worry about being alone, okay? You have experience this time and most importantly, you have me." Sam reassured his fiancée gently.**

 **"I do. I do," Santana murmurred, as much to reassure herself as to respond to Sam. She squeezed him back, then stepped away slightly, looking up at him again. "How long do you think we should wait to tell the kids?"**

 **Sam was glad that he was able to help calm Santana down. He didn't want her freaking out or worrying over nothing. "We can wait for however long you want or we can tell them right away. But first, we have to make sure that you're pregnant. We can decide after your doctor's appointment."**

 **"Oh…right." Santana glanced up towards the clock on the wall. "We should get going soon then."**

 **Sam looked at the time and his eyes widened, "Oh crap, I almost forgot that we have to go. Come on, babe. Let's worry about the rest later. Right now, we need to get you to the clinic."**


	22. Chapter 22

Even more than the conversation with Sam, Santana was dreading the conversation with the kids about the baby. After having confirmed at the doctor's that she was indeed about five weeks along, she had debated the merits of telling the children that she was pregnant. What if something went wrong and she ended up losing the baby? In the end she decided to risk it. Antonia was already concerned about her tiredness, and she didn't want her to get hysterical if she came across her being sick one day.

Calling them into the living room after dinner a few days later, she sat down on the couch with Sam, gesturing for Stevie and Antonia to sit beside them.

"Guys, Sam and I have some news to tell you."

Toni being Toni, she clapped her hands, immediately excited. "Am I gonna get a new kitty?! Yay! A kitty or a PONY!?"

Having recently gotten into both Little Pet Shop and My Little Pony toys, she was now obsessed with the idea of having a real life pink and purple pony or else a kitten with a huge head and big eyes- real ones.

Sam was going to be a father. They went to the clinic earlier and it was confirmed that Santana was five weeks pregnant. He couldn't believe it! It felt like a dream come true. Everything seemed so perfect, and now they were in the living room, getting ready to tell the kids that they were adding another baby to the family.

He laughed when he heard Toni's remarks, and shook his head, "No, we're not getting a kitty or a pony. We don't have space for a pony anyway, right now."

"I told you that you're not getting a pony." Stevie giggled. Toni had been going on and on about how she would love to have a kitty or pony and he was glad that Sammy said no. "But why are we here, Sammy?" He asked his big brother with a slight frown.

Toni crossed her arms over her chest, her lip sticking out in disappointment. "Awwww I wanted a pony. This isn't gonna be very fun news then." She heaved a sigh, looking at Santana expectantly. "Well what is it then?"

Santana tried not to laugh, looking over at Sam. "Well, you want to say it or me?"

"Be nice, Stevie…" Sam chided before smiling again and making the announcement, "Your mommy is pregnant, Toni. We are going to have a baby in a few months time."

"Really?" Stevie's eyes widened. He blinked a few times and then asked, "Is it going to be a boy? I want a boy, so I can play with him."

Santana smiled at Stevie, reaching to pat his shoulder. "Yes, really. We don't know yet what it is. We won't until it's bigger. But either way you can play with it. Not until it's a little bit bigger though. Either way you will be such an awesome uncle to it."

She turned her gaze to Antonia, the more dramatic and unpredictable of the two. Antonia stared at her, seeming to not quite be putting this together yet. She looked at her mother, than at her stomach, frowning. "You are not. You don't got a fat tummy. Your tummy is skinny so you aren't right, Mami. There isn't no baby in there."

Santana laughed, reaching to tweak a lock of her hair. "No, there is a baby in there, I promise. It's just that right now it's very very tiny. When it gets bigger then my stomach will get bigger too."

Sam laughed at his daughter, she was so innocent and clearly she didn't understand how pregnancy worked. "Mommy's belly will grow as the months pass, Princess. It's still early. The baby is still the size of a peanut." He smiled at Stevie after that. "We'll find out in a few months. But Tana is right, you can play with the baby even if it's a girl. You can teach her how to be tough, she's going to need her uncle Stevie."

Stevie didn't want to have another girl around the house. Toni was bad enough. He didn't like being outnumbered, but he didn't have much of a choice in this. "Okay… I'll be nice to the baby…"

Santana smiled at Stevie, ruffling his hair. "I'm glad I can count on you, hombrocito. The baby is going to look up to you and want to be just like you whether it's a boy or girl."

Antonia took this in, still frowning. She looked from Santana to her stomach to Sam, as though this was still something that she couldn't quite grasp. Then slow horror began to come over her face, and she kicked her leg against the couch, her face collapsing into a heavy scowl.

"You are so mean! Why are you getting a dumb stupid baby in your tummy?! We don't need a baby around here, we got enough kids here already! No more kids, NO BABIES!" She wasn't quite in tantrum mode yet, but she was definitely working her way up to it.

Santana looked down at her, her own expression becoming serious. She had suspected that Toni wouldn't be very thrilled with this, but she hadn't expected it to sink in quite this soon.

Sam smiled at Stevie. He was such a kind boy, he would have made their parents both very proud. "Thank you, buddy." He said, pulling him over for a hug.

Stevie didn't feel as bad anymore. It will be okay. He was a big boy and he has to lead by example. Although, it looked like Toni didn't get the same memo. She looked halfway to Meltdownville. Stevie was annoyed because she was always creating a scene and made everything un-fun, but instead of making things even worse, he clamp his lips together.

Sam sighed when he saw how Toni was reacting. She was not going to make this easy. He pulled Toni onto his lap and turned her so that she was looking at his face. "Toni, the baby is not dumb. That's a mean thing to say and you are hurting your mommy's feelings. Do you want to make mommy cry?"

Antonia twisted her body around in Sam's lap, resisting his effort to hold her and making grunting noises of frustration. "Is too dumb! It's dumb and stupid and I don't want it! You are very mean to go get a baby! Take it back!"

Glancing over at Stevie, Santana pressed her lips together into a tight line. She reached to squeeze his shoulder, knowing how much effort it must take for him to be so good then given how Toni was acting, and then looked over at her daughter. As rude as Toni was being, it bothered Santana how upset she was. She didn't know what Toni was thinking other than babies were "dumb" but since she had been interested in her infant cousins the few times she had met them, she didn't know exactly why. In spite of herself, she actually did feel a little teary like Sam had said. Stupid freaking hormones. Taking a breath, she spoke to Toni levelly.

"Toni, you're allowed to be upset, but we've talked about this. You talk about upset feelings. You tell us how you feel, you don't use mean words. Try again."

Stevie was mad now. If he was the one who had said those mean things, he would be in trouble, but it was okay for her to do it. "You are being mean. You are making Tana sad and making me mad…" He scowled at the little girl.

Sam didn't know how to deal with Toni. He could see Tana's sadness and Stevie's anger. In a way he understood Toni's worries. She was the baby for the longest time. It must be hard to have to have to share that attention now.

"Why are you upset, Toni? Do you think that mommy and daddy won't love you anymore? Because that's not true, you know… We will always love you and Stevie."

"I am not being mean! Everyone else is being mean! Very, very mean!" Antonia almost screamed this, still twisting around in Sam's arms, trying to slide down to the floor. "Mean, mean, mean!"

When Sam asked if she thought that she wouldn't be loved anymore, she stopped squirming around. Her body went limp instead, and she burst into tears, hanging half off his lap. "You will not! You put a new baby in Mami's tummy! You're gonna like it better, you wouldn't go get no new baby if you did too love me! You are so, so mean to me, I don't like you no more! I don't like you at all!"

She sobbed, and Santana's heart broke for her. She hadn't ever explained how babies were made to Toni, since she was so young; all Toni knew was they grew in women's stomach and came out as babies. For all she knew they had to buy them first. No wonder she was feeling betrayed, if she had it in her head that this baby was like replacing worn out sneakers or something like that.

Reaching out to her, she took her from Sam, settling her in her own lap and blinking back the tears still not totally gone. She rocked her, shaking her head.

"Baby, that isn't true. I love you so much. I have always loved you more than anything in this world. No one will ever, ever make that go away. Nothing. Lots and lots of people get little brothers or sisters and their parents still keep them and love them. You know that. Sam is Stevie's brother, he didn't get tossed out the window when Stevie was born."

The truth finally came out. Sam was right, Toni did feel like she was being replaced. "You will never be replaced, Toni. Your mommy and I could never replace you or Stevie. You both are very special to us." He reached out to stroke her hair, not wanting to break the bond that Toni and Tana was having. Then he looked at Stevie. "You believe me right? That I love you?"

Stevie nodded, at first he felt like he was being replaced by Toni, but now he understood everything. Sammy still loved. He still did things with Stevie and he would always be special to his brother's eyes. "I believe you. I love you too, Sammy…" He smiled before hugging his brother.

It was difficult for Toni to believe that then, but she clung to her mother, gradually returning her embrace as her tears lessened a little. Santana rubbed her back, holding her close to her heart as she continued to speak softly.

"You were my very first. My very first baby ever, and no matter how big you are, even if you get bigger then me, you will always be my baby girl. You'll be my baby when you're seventy years old. And this baby will love you so much too, Toni. You will be so, so important to it."

Eventually Toni stopped crying, slipping her thumb into her mouth, and just leaned into her mother's chest, sniffly. Santana kissed her head, giving her another tight hug, and then patted her leg. "Go give your daddy a hug. He doesn't like when you're sad and he really doesn't like when you say mean things. You have to use your feeling words, Toni. You know that."

"Sorry," Toni said in a small voice as she crawled onto Stevie's lap. Santana put her arm around Stevie, giving him a hug and kissing the top of his head too.

"Good. Because I do…" Sam said to Stevie, hugging him closely. Toni was crying and that broke something inside him. He hated seeing the people he loved hurting. He felt somewhat responsible for this, he should have thought about Toni and Stevie instead of letting his desire lead the way. When Toni apologized, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "It's okay, Toni. Daddy's sorry for upsetting you. Can you forgive me too?"

Stevie on the other hand was keeping his silence. He didn't have very much to say because he didn't want to upset anybody, so he simply let Tana hug and kiss his hair.

Arms still around Stevie, Santana watched her daughter and her fiance. She patted Toni's foot, giving it a gentle squeeze. Antonia sniffled, snuggling into Sam, and nodded. "Yeah. I still don't want a baby though. I wanna still be your little girl. And I don't like it 'cause it's gonna be your real live baby and you get to be its father AND daddy and you're just my daddy and it's not fair."

Santana froze, feeling like she had been stabbed in the heart with that comment of Toni's. It was true; Toni had definitely grasped their conversation previously very well. Sam would never be her father as he was the new child's. Her throat choked up and she looked away, trying desperately to keep control of herself.

"No, that's not true. You will always be my little princess. I will always love you. Stevie's not my son, but I love him. I don't love you more than I love him. I love you all equally. That's how things are going to be with the new baby too. I'm going to love him and her the same way." Sam said trying to sooth Toni's fears.

It all were starting to make sense now. Toni was afraid that they might be replacing her. Stevie had the same fears too in the past. Why didn't he see this coming from a mile away?

"Don't be silly, Toni. Sammy will always be your daddy. He's my big brother still and he love me. We do things together alone without you. If he didn't love me, he won't do that with me." Stevie said in his brother's defense.

Toni tried to process this, still frowning faintly. She hung onto Sam, looking up into his face. "Do you promise? 'Cause you didn't get me in my mami's belly and you got this baby there, right? You won't love it more 'cause you're it's daddy more?"

Santana still wasn't saying anything, not looking at her. She just reached out to pat Toni's leg, exhaling somewhat shakily. Toni looked over at Stevie. "Yeah….I guess…"

"Thank you, buddy." Sam was glad for Stevie's interference and was even happier to know that his little brother still knew that he was loved. "I promise." He flashed the little girl a lopsided smile and kissed her cute little nose. "You will always be my little princess no matter what. That will never, ever change." Then he bowed his head so that he could whisper into Toni's ear, "I think mommy needs a hug, why don't you give her a big one so that she can feel better?"

"Okay." Finally accepting this, for now anyway, Toni gave him a small smile. With Sam's whisper, she looked over at her mother, and seeing her expression, quickly became concerned. She climbed into Santana's lap and snuggled her, giving her the tightest squeeze she could. "Sorry Mami. I love you big big big. Even if you have lots of babies. I still don't want you to though okay? How about just this one and that's all."

Santana had to laugh at that, despite her somewhat emotional response. She hugged Antonia back, kissing her head. "Love you too, mija. So, so much."

Sam watched as Toni hugged Santana, his heart feeling full and already much better for what was transpiring. Things weren't perfect in his household, but he was glad that they were at least able to talk things out. He let the two have their moment for a few more minute longer before speaking again. "It's a good day to go out and get some ice cream. What do you say we do that?"

Stevie, who had been silent all this time got excited by the news. He clapped his hands and jumped in his seat. "Ice cream! Let's go get ice cream!"

Antonia perked up too at this announcement, jumping up off her mother's lap and clapping too. "Yeah! Ice cream! Ice cream with sprinkles! Ice cream with sprinkles!"

As Santana stood too, reaching for Sam's hand, she gave it a squeeze and a private smile of gratitude. No matter what happened or how stressful their days could ever be, she knew in the end he would always have her back, and that meant they could get through anything.


	23. Chapter 23

Sam had a day off from practice and he decided to be useful and work on the baby's room. They had decided on a neutral color for the room since they didn't know what the sex of the baby was going to be.

"Green it is..." He uttered under his breath as he opened the paint can and started on his task.

Santana had been tired lately, in the early stages of her pregnancy, and has had pretty bad morning sickness for most of the day. She was taking a nap on the living room couch, not entirely intentionally. Toni, having been warned to be quiet to let her rest, had grown bored easily, as quiet wasn't very natural to her. Wandering into the baby's room, she stood back and watched Sam with some interest.

"I wanna help. Can I paint? I'm a super good painter."

Sam focused on his task and began painting. Not five minutes later, he heard Toni's little voice coming from behind him. She wanted to help, and he couldn't say no, not when she looked so angelic and had that little smirk that always made him want to give her everything that her heart desired.

"Sure, come in here, but you have to keep your voice down, okay? Mommy's sleeping and we don't want to wake her."

"I know. She's so boring now. She don't wanna play with me much and she goes to sleep a lot," Antonia complained, her lower lip sticking out slightly. "I'm being super good and quiet though even though it's boring. Can I paint? Where?" She was already reaching for the brush.

Sam put the brush down and knelt before Toni, he could see that she was a little upset by Santana's tiredness, and that didn't sit well with him. "Your mommy is not boring, Princess. She's tired. Carrying a baby in her belly is hard work." He stood up again, chuckling, "You can paint next to me. Make sure you cover all the spots, okay?"

Toni listened to him, but didn't understand. "But she's not even working. And the baby isn't even big. I don't know how come it's so hard." She knelt next to him, reaching for the brush, and was quiet for about a minute before she looked up curiously. "How did the baby get in her tummy anyway?"

"That baby takes up a lot of mommy's energy, Princess. The baby needs to eat, so it takes what mommy eats. It's tiring..." Sam was clueless as to how to answer Toni. The truth was, this was all still very new to him and he didn't really have all the answers. What she asked next had him stump, "Umm... I... Umm..."

Toni shrugged, still a little pouty over this. "The baby should leave Mami alone. It's mean to her." When Sam didn't answer her right away, she looked at him curiously, dripping paint all over the floor. "Don't you know, Daddy? Didn't Mami tell you?"

"The baby can't help it. It needs food to grow."

Sam's mouth hung open, how could he explain without things sounding raunchy? He didn't want to talk about this. It wasn't his place. That should be Santana's duty.

"Storks." He blurted out without thinking, "The storks put them there." He cemented that lie all too quickly. "Start painting, Princess, we don't have all day."

Toni put a single stroke on the wall, then turning to Sam, more interested in this conversation, tilted her head. "A stork? Isn't that a bird? How come a bird had a baby to put in Mommy's tummy? Mommy doesn't even like birds. She gets scared if pigeons get too close to her."

"Yes, it's a bird. A big bird..." Sam thought that he had gotten away with explaining things, but apparently he was wrong. Toni had to remind him that Santana didn't like bird. Damnit! How could he have forgotten that bit of information? "Oh it happened while mommy was asleep."

Toni's eyes grew huge then, and she put a hand over her mouth, her voice growing high in pitch. "A bird snuck in at night and got a baby in Mami while she was sleeping?! Daddy why didn't you protect her?! I don't want a bird to do that to me!" Then another thought occurred to her. "Is it gonna be a bird baby?"

Oh crap. Sam had clearly screwed thing up with Toni. He wanted to shout for Santana to come help him, but he knew she needed the rest, so he let her be. "No, Princess. Mommy knows that the stork is coming, that's why she's asleep so she don't have to be scared." He said trying to remedy the situation, "And the baby will be a human baby."

: "But how come she knowed that? Storks don't talk, and they don't got phones...how did she know when the stork would come?" Toni was really puzzling over this.

"Umm... She just do. Storks can talk to adult woman. Only they understand what the storks are saying." Sam knew that his explanation sucks, but he couldn't stop the lies from pouring out of his mouth.

: Toni continued to stare at was dripping paint all over the floor. "Mami never told me that before. That she can do that." She paused, then another thought struck her. "How come she said that you helped make this baby and that Kyle helped make me if the stork broughted me and you can't talk to him?"

Sam grabbed the brush from Toni's hand and set it down. He couldn't be more thankful for the tarp that he had sat down over the floors. "She must have forgotten." He said shrugging his shoulders and let out a sigh at her next question, "It's because I didn't know your mommy when the stork brought you to her. But I'm here now."

Toni looked at him, still thinking this through. "I wanna meet the stork. Can I see him? I wanna watch Mami talk to him."

"Umm... You have to be a really big girl to talk to the stork. You have to be as tall or mommy and sometimes taller before the stork will come to you." Sam lied.

Toni looked disappointed at this. "But he can come to Mami and I won't even talk to him. I'll just watch Mami, that's all. And if he's scared I'll be super quiet and just watch and not even move."

"He already came. Storks only come over every once in a while..." Sam tried to reason. "I'm afraid they don't let children be there when they come. Even I can't see them."

Toni looked at Sam again, pouting. "That's silly, Daddy. Are you sure you got this right?"

"I know it is, but that's just the rules." Sam nodded his head, trying his best not to look guilty. "I'm sure... Hey, are you hungry for ice-cream?" He changed the subject abruptly.

Toni continued to stare at him, ignoring the ice cream part for once in her life. She continued to assess him, then shook her head decisively. "I think you don't even know, Daddy. I think you're 'barrassed 'cause you don't know so you just made that up."

Sam sighed and pretended to agree with Toni, "You know what, you're a smart cookie." He picked her up and kissed her cheek, "I don't know. You will have to ask your mommy about that, because she's the only one who knows the answer."

Toni beamed, very pleased with herself. "I knew it, Daddy! I knew it! I'm gonna go find out." She wiggled to be put down.

"Yeah, you caught me..." Sam laughed then shook his head at her request, "No, Princess, you can't ask mommy now. You have to wait until she wakes up, okay? Now how about you help me with this painting?

"No, no, I got another idea." Toni raced out of the room, with her effort at walking softly sounding more like an elephant thundering.

Sam was confused at what was happening and followed Toni out of the room. "Princess, you need to be quiet." He said in a soft yet stern voice.

"Ohhh sorry." Toni said this in a loud "whisper" and tried to tiptoe but wasn't very awesome at it. She continued to walk away, finding her Ipad in her room and starting to manipulate it to Google. "how do you spell "where do babies come from?"

Sam followed behind Toni and watched what she was doing. He wasn't sure what she was going to do, but once the question left her mouth, his eyes widen and he quickly snatched the ipad away. "Umm... You don't need that. I told you, you should talk to your mommy."

Scowling, Toni reached for the Ipad, trying to stretch to take it. "Daddy! I wasn't even mean and I didn't get it taken away! I was being nice and helping paint so how come you're taking it?"

Sam put the ipad behind his back and away from Toni's reach. "Because you can't go online. There's some bad things online. Things that will scare you. You don't want to get scared, do you?"

"Babies aren't scary," Toni continued to pout, still reaching for the Ipad. "I wanna know. Mami is gonna sleep foreverrrrr."

"Baby's aren't, but you can't get online without permission and mommy will be up in an hour. So we should finish painting the baby's room while you wait for her to get up."

Toni kept pouting but followed Sam back to the baby's room. She was quiet until another question struck her. "Do babies really bite boobies?"

Sam sighed and kept the ipad by his side. He then walked back to the baby room and started to paint again, or tried to at least... He was lucky that he wasn't drinking or eating something or he would have choked right then. "Babies don't bite boobies... They breastfeed, to get milk."

: Toni looked horrified at this. "Why did Mami put milk in her boobies?! That is so gross! Did she drink too much?"

Sam was getting a headache, this was too much for him to handle at the moment. "Mommy don't. It just comes in when the baby is born. You used to drink from her boobies too, I think..."

Toni's chin jerked up indignantly as she shook her head hard. "I did not! I drink milk out of cups. I think you're wrong about this too, Daddy. That's silly."

"When you were a baby, you didn't know how to use cups. You drink from a baby bottle and from the boobies. Everyone does it. Daddy and Stevie did them too." Sam corrected.

"Did not either. I was not gross. I don't touch Mami's boobies except by accident and then you say sorry. 'Cause that's a private part and you don't touch private parts." Toni was firm on this.

"You can't say that, Princess. When you were babies, you did a lot of gross things. Like poop your diaper and vomit all over. That's just what babies do, it's gross but it's natural."

: "Don't believe you," Toni muttered, not wanting to accept this. "I don't want no baby that's gross like that. Babies are supposed to be cute."

"You don't have to believe me, but it's the truth." Sam said, shrugging his shoulders. "Babies are cute, but they do have to poop and pee. It's normal. You have to be nice to the baby, okay?"

Being nice to something that was stinky was not on Toni's agenda. She continued to scowl at Sam, not fully agreeing to this. "Do I gotta when it's stinky even?"

Sam laughed a little. He couldn't help himself, Toni was being adorable. "You would want your mommy and me to love you when you're stinky, right? You should do the same for the baby too."

Toni considered this too, still trying to work it to her angle. "Can I go into another room and love it there when it's stinky?"

Sam snorted at the question and tried to hide it behind a cough. When he composed himself, he looked at Toni and said, "Why would you need to love the baby from a different room? Stinky babies need their big sister around them. Maybe you can help mommy and daddy give your baby sister a shower."

Toni looked horrified at that suggestion too. "I don't wanna touch a dirty stinky naked baby! They'll make me dirty and stinky too!"

"That's why you give them a shower. It will make them clean." Sam explained.

Antonia shook her head, nose in the air. "Yeah but you can't hold your nose and hold the baby at the same time so I don't think so."

"Toni, that's not a nice thing to say about the baby." Sam said sternly. "You wouldn't want people holding your mommy to hold her nose when she's giving you a shower, right? You shouldn't do that to your little sister." He was so used to saying that he was going to have a baby girl, that it came second nature to just assume.

Toni ignored all the parts that came before this, instead choosing to focus on the last two words. She blinked at Sam, looking betrayed. "It's a girl?"

"We don't know yet, but I think it is..." Sam smiled at the thought of winning the bet and having another baby girl around. "Wouldn't you like to have a little sister?"

Toni's eyes opened wide, and she shook her head adamantly, her voice raising with indignation that he even had to guess. "NO! Daddy, no, no way! I'm the only girl, I don't want another girl! It can be a boy so Stevie can have it."

Sam was shocked by Toni's screams. He didn't realize that she was going to be that upset about possibly having a baby sister. "We can't choose, Toni. It's up to the stork if you're going to have a baby sister or brother."

"You said that you just made up storks," Toni pointed out. She sat down on the floor, folding her arms over her chest, her little face screwed up into an anxious grimace. "I don't want a girl. I want a boy for Stevie." In other words, so Stevie could be the one to deal with him and she could go about her own way.

Sam sighed, not knowing what else to say. A part of him wished that he could wake Santana up and tell her to deal with Toni, but he knew that it wasn't a choice. "Okay, fine, storks don't make the decision, but God does. He says what we get to have. If it's a baby girl, I need you to be nice to her, okay?"

Toni considered this. She hasn't regularly gone to church, but the times she's gone at Christmas or with Maribel were enough to make an impression on her. God is something she holds in awe, when she remembers him. "God says it? Does God make the babies and put them in Mami's tummy?"

"Yes. He does..." Sam said, thankful that Toni wasn't fighting him, at least... "Well, every creature came from God. He chooses when we are born and when we die. That's why my parents went to heaven because God says that they were needed up in heaven." He teared up a little, but quickly cleared his throat.

"Oh." With this explanation, Toni could somewhat accept this. If God made the baby, then there wasn't much anyone could do about it. She frowned, her brow furrowing at Sam's tears, and reached up to touch his cheek. "Are you sad, Daddy?"

Sam smiled at his daughter, turned his head so that he could kiss her little hand and sighed, "A little bit. I miss my daddy and mommy too, but I know that they're in God's hands now."

After he was able to compose himself, Sam stood up, helping Toni up as well, "Do you feel like painting now? Because Daddy still have a lot to do, and wouldn't it be nice to surprise mommy with a painted room?"

Toni considered this, squeezing Sam's hand. She didn't let go as she followed him back to the wall. "Yeah. Mami would like that." She paused, then looked up at him again. "If God makes babies do you think the baby knew your mommy and daddy?"

Sam got his brush and went back to his task. Toni's question threw him off a little, but he smiled nonetheless and said, "I believe so. I think my parents are watching over all of us too."

Toni smiled at this, helping him with the paint about as effectively as a four year old can, as in, not at all. Then she looked up. "Daddy? Is the baby an angel in heaven AND in Mami's tummy?"

Sam went about helping Toni with her mistakes, chuckling as he went about it, "I think the baby was an angel and then God put the baby in mommy's tummy because he wanted her to fill us with even more love."

Toni smiled, liking this idea. "Ohhh so it's like a super hero baby! That's cool."

Sam snorted at that, and gave her cheek a kiss, "That's right, like a super hero baby."

Toni liked the idea of that and smiled more, dimples showing. "Are we gonna be famous for our super hero baby?"

"No, baby. I don't think the baby will be famous. You don't want to be famous anyway. The cameras will follow you all the time. They can get really annoying." Sam said, making a face.

"But then you got lots of money and you're in movies and everyone likes you," is Toni's understanding of fame. "Plus you get to sing."

"That's all good too, but they also never leave you alone. Can you imagine not having any privacy? They'll try to hound you even when you're trying to sleep. That's not fun..."

"But then they can play with me!" Toni smiled. "And give me toys! I think it would be fun."

Sam shook his head at this and chuckled. Of course this was about Toni and not the baby. "Alright, enough talking now. We need to finish painting this room, Princess."


	24. Chapter 24

It still seemed almost unreal to Santana that she was pregnant again. It had been nearly five years now since her pregnancy with Antonia, but this second pregnancy, in comparison, was so different in the feelings and circumstances of it that it seemed unreal. Sometimes she felt guilty, in a way, when she remembered her last pregnancy versus her current one, especially when caught Toni looking not so subtly at her stomach, trying to see any signs of the baby she had been told was inside. What if her little girl somehow knew, either in the womb or now, at four years old, how Santana had felt about being pregnant with her, and how much happier she was to be pregnant with her sibling?

Toni couldn't have guessed that, of course. Most of her thoughts revolved around what she wanted and how to get it; she was, after all, only four years old, and her skills of putting herself into others' shoes weren't very strongly developed yet. But Santana knew, and it was difficult for her to acknowledge to herself. Sure, she could tell herself that with Toni's pregnancy, she had been only seventeen years old, much too young, frightened, and hurting from Kyle's betrayal to really appreciate the details of her changing body and to foster a bond with her growing daughter inside her. Sure, she had had the support and guidance of her mother, but outside of that, she had been utterly, depressingly alone.

It was different now. She had Sam, every day trying to care for her and make sure she had what she needed, his concern even going above what was sensible at times. Sam, who was overjoyed at the prospect of being a father, who couldn't do enough for her, their child, or Antonia. She was older and more prepared, both emotionally and financially, and she knew without a doubt that she would be able to raise this child and provide for it, as she had not been certain of with Toni. She had much less stress and anxiety over the future of her baby's birth, and that enabled her to be able to relax more and just feel a sense of wonder at the changes of her body as they occurred.

She had not been able to do any of this with Antonia, and that bothered her more than she would have thought. It was not that she had not wanted Antonia; she had, desperately, as soon as she saw her daughter's scrunchy little face, screaming her indignation at the harshness of florescent light in her newborn eyes. But she had not wanted to be pregnant with her, and she feared now that somehow, Antonia would sense the difference.

But of course, her worry was probably ridiculous; although Antonia certainly seemed jealous and conflicted about the idea of a younger sibling, and she had had quite the tantrum, brought on by her fears of being replaced, her anger and fear had recently been replaced with occasional whining or sulking, and more and more she was starting to show interest and curiosity at the prospect of the baby. She had started to ask Santana increasingly difficult questions about exactly how the baby had come to be, and she had even showed some enthusiasm in helping to pick out baby accessories for the nursery. Santana knew she really didn't need to worry about Antonia, logically, at least not where the baby was concerned. With Kyle, that was another story.

It became clear to her, however, with Antonia's increasing curiosity, that she had better tell her mother about her pregnancy. Although the clinic visit had confirmed a growing and so far healthy fetus, and she had the sonogram picture to prove it, Santana had nevertheless delayed telling her mother about it. Why, she wasn't sure. But something felt wrong about telling her mother that she was pregnant for the second time now without a wedding ring on her finger. Supportive and accepting as her mother was and always had been, and as much as she loved Antonia, Santana couldn't help but worry that she would disappoint her with her announcement. Even though Maribel had been thrilled about her engagement to Sam and got on very well with him- almost embarrassingly so at times- Santana feared that although her mother would never show it, she might inwardly disapprove of her daughter's schedule being so out of sync with what was usually acceptable timing in society.

Regardless, she couldn't put off telling Maribel about the pregnancy for very long, she knew, because Antonia's ability to hold in secrets was notoriously short, and Santana was sure the next time she got on the phone with her abuela she would excitedly rattle off something that would ruin her chance to tell her for herself. Because this was news she wanted to tell her mother in person, she found herself calling Maribel and asking her to make the trip for the first weekend that she was able to, telling her something vague about wanting to take her sight seeing in their new home town. Maribel, never one to turn down a chance to travel, much less see her daughter and grandchild, had agreed readily enough, leaving Santana a few days to prepare and make certain that both children would be at school during the time of her mother's arrival.

Maribel had pulled up in her rental car with her usual bustle of suitcases and gifts for the children, Santana, and Sam, and after several noisy minutes of exclamations, tight hugs, and kisses, she had followed Santana into her new home, exclaiming over the difference in size and décor. Santana had barely managed to sit her down on their new leather couch and serve her a glass of lemonade before Maribel fixed her eyes on her, giving her a knowing look.

"So tell me, carina, how far along are you?"

Santana had stuttered, her eyes growing wide as she attempted to deny her mother's words. "What are you…mami, what the hell?"

"Mija, I know you didn't tell me to come over here to look at the home, as lovely as it is, and I can see clearly that you are glowing," Maribel's own face was rather bright itself in affect as she reached for her daughter's hand, squeezing tightly. "A mother knows. You are beautiful, carina, and you look so happy. I bet Sam is very excited."

"He is," Santana sank into the seat beside her, burrowing into her mother's embrace with both gratitude and relief. Trust her mother to steal her thunder like that, but at least she didn't have to think through what to say. "He's over the moon about it. Toni, not so much, but she's getting used to the idea."

"Oh, Antonita," Maribel chuckled, shaking her head. "Mi ninita is a mess. Just like you. I can't imagine having had another child after you, although I sometimes regretted not."

Stroking a hand over her daughter's head, she kissed her temple, giving her another tight squeeze. "I am happy for you, mija."

Santana looked up at her through her eyelashes, feeling strangely shy as her lips briefly pressed together, venturing to ask, "Mami…you aren't…I don't know, disappointed?"

"In you? Never," Maribel told her with sudden seriousness, pulling back just enough to look into her daughter's eyes. "We were blessed with Antonia, the both of us, and I am certain that this baby will be just as wonderful. They come in God's timing, not ours."

And so Santana had let herself fully relax, comforted by her mother's acceptance. If she and Sam were happy and lacked regrets, then she too could enjoy.

She had made sure that Stevie had a playdate after school, wanting Antonia to have the chance to have some uninterrupted time with her mother. And as she had suspected, Maribel had made certain to use the time that Antonia was in preschool to prepare for her granddaughter. She had smiled at Antonia's happy shouts of surprise as she came through the door and saw her grandmother, scooping her up into her arms and planting kisses on her cheeks as she carried her into the living room.

"I hear that one little girl I know is going to be a big sister soon. Is that right, mi ninita?"

"Yes!" Antonia had shouted, forgetting her ambivalence of this at her grandmother's attention towards her. "And I'm gonna help out, a whole whole lot. I helped Sam paint up the baby's room, didn't I, Mami?"

"Yes you did, baby," Santana smiled down at her, reaching out to ruffle Antonia's hair. "Why don't you go take Abuela to see it?"

"Yes, Antonita Bonita, I must see what a wonderful help you were," Maribel told Antonia warmly as she put her down, letting Antonia take her by the hand and half drag her to the still not entirely finished nursery. "I know you will be such a big help with your mami and daddy when they have the baby to take care of too, won't you?"

"Uh huh," Antonia proclaimed confidently, forgetting her earlier declaration that she would have absolutely nothing to do with any baby that was stinky or noisy. "I'll be the best helper ever. Better than Stevie."

Santana just shook her head, letting her mother gently reprimand her daughter as she followed her down the hall. As Maribel entered the newly painted nursery, which was intended to have a zoo animal theme that could work for either a girl or a boy, Antonia continued to pull her around by the hand, proudly gesturing at the little bookcase, full of several of her own baby books that she had allowed her mother to place there.

"These used to be mine, 'Buela. Back when I was too little to listen to big kid books. I can almost read now, did you know that? I can read my name and I can read at and it and on and I and a and lots of stuff. I bet by the time that baby is born I can read the whole entire bookcase."

"I bet so," Maribel laughed, smiling at her granddaughter.

She extracted one of the smaller books from the bookcase, which was a new album Santana had only recently put together, containing photos of Antonia, Stevie, herself, and Sam as infants. There was plenty of space in the back for pictures of the new baby. As Antonia watched her grandmother smiling as she leafed through, she tugged at her arm, curious as always to know what others were up to.

"Whatcha doin', 'Buela?"

Maribel held the album out to her, flipping to the first page.

"That was your mother when she was a little baby herself, mi ninita. Look at those curls, just like yours."

"Wow!" Antonia giggled, pointing at the page and hiding her mouth behind her hand as her dark eyes sparkled with glee. "Look at her big cheeks! She was a fat baby, 'Buela!"

"She was a beautiful baby, just like you," Maribel told her fondly, smoothing a hand over her forehead. Sitting down in the newly purchased rocking chair several feet behind them, she drew Antonia onto her lap, encircling one arm around her as she held the photo album, turning pages for her to see. Antonia snuggled back against her, enjoying the attention as her grandmother continued to narrate.

"That was your mami too, Toni, and as you can see it wasn't just her cheeks that were chubby."

"She didn't have no clothes on!" Antonia gasped, half horrified, half amused. "How come she didn't have no clothes, 'Buela? Didn't she know that was bad?"

"She was too little to know she was supposed to wear clothes, and she liked to be naked," Maribel laughed. "Most babies too."

"Well, this baby better not get naked," Antonia declared, little nose stuck up in the air as she crossed her arms over her chest, firm in this determination. "That's just icky."

As Maribel turned the page, Antonia looked at the next picture with curiosity. "Is that Mami too?"

"No, sweetie, that is you," Maribel laughed, nudging her arm with her shoulder. "Your mami wasn't the only one with chubby cheeks and a big tummy!"

Antonia regarded the picture somewhat critically, tilting her head towards it before asking, "'Buela, I got black hair like Mami and brown skin. But if Sam is gonna be the baby's daddy then is it gonna have blue eyes and blonde hair like him or is it gonna look like Mami and me?"

"Well, carina, that is something that we will not know until the baby is here with us," Maribel explained, adjusting her hold of Antonia so she could look her in the eyes. "God will decide that. Just like he decides if the baby will be a boy or a girl."

"I want a boy baby," Antonia declared. "That way I get to be the only girl and Daddy won't like her better than me."

Maribel looked at Antonia for a moment, reading her not too subtle mood. "Even if the baby is a girl, Antonia, Sam will still love you just as much. And you will always be his very first little girl ever."

She paused, then, stroking her fingers slowly through Antonia's hair, added, "You will be such a good, special big sister to the baby, I just know it. You can teach it so many things that little babies won't know, and the baby will love you so much and want to be just like you. Your mami and daddy will need your help, and they are so very lucky to have you there for that. You get to be their little girl always, their very first little girl, and their big helper too. So lucky! Your mami, she was not so lucky because she did not have a little brother or sister she could help, or a big brother or sister who could help her. She did not have someone to place with as a little girl, and every time a child in the house got in trouble, it was always her because she was the only one there who could have been naughty. You are so lucky, Antonita, to have a big brother in Stevie and a little brother or sister in the baby. You get to be the little sister and the big sister at the very same time. No one else in the whole family gets to be both. Stevie will always be oldest and the baby will always be youngest, but you are so special, because you can be both."

This was something that Antonia had never thought about, and as she considered this, she began to smile. Snuggled up against her abuela, it occurred to her for the first time that maybe she was right.

88

"It's so amazing, babe," Sam breathed out, his eyes fixed with something like awe on the sonogram that Santana was holding in her hand. His arm wrapped around her shoulder from where she sat, examining it for the fifteenth time since it had been handed to them in the passenger seat of his car. Chin resting gently on her shoulder, he kissed her neck impulsively, squeezing her closer to him despite the awkwardness of the armrests in between them. "That's a person in there. A person we made. It wouldn't be here if it wasn't for us."

"Us and sex," Santana had to put in with a smirk, but she too was holding the sonogram very carefully, looking at it with soft eyes. Although the baby depicted in it was still very small, it was beginning to take on the shape of what was, though tiny, more recognizably human. Sam had been amusing her to no end by regaling her with what type of fruit the baby would be comparable in size at what stage of development, but it was sweet as well. This was all so new and exciting to him, and although she had been through this once before with Antonia, it was still exciting for her too.

They had decided by mutual agreement that they would not learn the baby's gender, once it was apparent to Santana's gynecologist; they wanted fewer arguments between the children and more of a surprise for them. Santana, having had one daughter, was secretly hoping for a boy, but she knew that as much as Sam would love a son, he was so enamored with Antonia that a biological daughter of his own would melt him that much further. Whatever their child would turn out to be, it was certain to be welcomed and loved.

"It's so cool," Sam continued, and he reached down to rub one hand gently over Santana's stomach. Although she was just barely beginning show, not enough to be noticeable to anyone but him and her, he liked to touch her there often, certain that he could nevertheless make out where the baby might begin. "You've got a person in there."

"That's how it works, yeah," she replied, lightly batting his hand away but briefly squeezing his fingers instead. "Believe me, it will be a lot less surprising when I'm huge as a house and can't take a step without needing to take a rest or pee."

"Babe, why don't we get you home and you can rest a while?" Sam suggested, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You've had the whole day with the kids until the appointment with them having the teacher inservice day, you must be tired. I'll pick them up from the babysitter and take them out to pick out some baby things, maybe go to the park if they're good, and you can recharge your energy for the five pm energy blast you know they both get."

"That would be amazing," Santana said sincerely. Although the morning sickness had already faded away almost entirely, frequent exhaustion was beginning to settle in even more intensely than the first few weeks, and Antonia Lopez was a child that could exhaust anyone, pregnant or not. "It would help them feel more involved with the baby too, you know how proud Toni was to give it even some of her old chewed up books."

"Then that's what we'll do," Sam promised, giving her a gentle kiss on the lips as though to seal his words. "Maybe we can bring you some dinner home too."

It took the usual twenty minutes after arriving home to get the kids into their respective car and booster seats, properly buckled, with Stevie's tablet, Antonia's stuffed hippo, and the extra outfit that Santana insisted on bringing for both of them, should car sickness strike again, even with the relatively brief driving that Sam would be taking them on. Both children, having been kept inside by the babysitter and at Santana's insistence, with Kyle still a concern in the foreground of her mind, were now at high levels of contained energy, and it seemed from the moment that Sam got behind the wheel that shopping was the last thing they wanted to do.

"Sammy, Toni won't stay on her side!" Stevie protested, as Antonia responded with an indignant kick aimed in his direction.

"I am too, Daddy! Stevie won't let me see what he's doing on his tablet and that's not fair!"

"If I let her see she'll take it away from me or mess it up!" Stevie complained, trying his hardest to hold the tablet up at an angle where Antonia not only couldn't see but couldn't reach. Toni's response to that was to try to kick him again, to which Stevie bellowed out, "Sammy, she's kicking me, make her stop!"

"Toni, stop kicking Stevie, that isn't nice and that isn't how we show that we don't like things," Sam chided, shaking his head. "Stevie, it's nice to share. Guys, both of you are going to have to be a lot better behaved than this when we go shopping for the new baby together."

"Oh, is that what we're doing?" Stevie demanded, making a face. "I don't wanna do that, Sammy. Shopping is boring."

"I don't wanna either," Toni agreed, switching her kicking from being aimed at Stevie to the seat in front of her. "I gived the baby my books. That's enough."

"Sammy, Toni's still kicking!" Stevie tattled, pointing at her.

"I am not!"

"Both of you, stop," Sam ordered, lifting one hand from the steering wheel to rub at his temples. Already he was wondering if this had been such a good idea. "We're going to go shopping for the baby, and I want each of you to come with me because I need your help and Santana does too. She's going to be tired a lot until the baby is born, and after too, and that means that we both need you to try really hard to be good. If you're good today then we can maybe go to the park, and I might let you have ice cream with dinner too."

"Okay," Stevie said immediately, sold by the words ice cream. Antonia had to think about this a little longer, her lips fixed into a pout as she considered.

"Okay," she said finally, giving a nod. "I guess so."

"Good choice," Sam approved, trying not to show how inwardly relieved he was that they had decided this, bribe or no bribe. As necessary as he knew it was, he still hated to have to carry out discipline on the kids, Toni in particular. He was used to it with Stevie, but looking at Toni's big brown eyes and pouting expression when she was denied her way was still something he was getting used to powering through.

He had chosen Bye Bye Baby as the destination to look for needed baby items; he had figured that the children would be distracted from the intended purpose if they were at Toys R Us, Target, or the mall, where items aimed at older children would undoubtedly distract them from the mission at hand. Taking Toni's hand in his and keeping his other hand on Stevie's shoulder, he guided them inside the store as he explained.

"There will be many, many things the baby needs, and we definitely won't get all of it today. But it would be a really special thing if each of you picked out at least one thing today that it will need, so the baby will know that its uncle and its big sister were helping make sure it was taken care of."

"What kind of stuff does it need?" Stevie asked, curious. He had never spent any significant length of time around any babies, and he looked around the large store with narrow eyed disinterest. "This stuff doesn't look like it's much fun, Sammy. Babies like to play with that stuff?"

He pointed at the aisle nearest to them, which was stocked with baby toys such as cloth covered mirrors, teething rings, stacking toys, and plastic keys. Toni, however, made a beeline for the keys, pointing them out to Sam excitedly.

"Babies shouldn't be driving, Daddy. I think these should be for me."

"Those keys aren't for driving, Toni," Sam chuckled, following her down the aisle to take them from her grasp. "They're just pretend, for the baby to hold or chew on. And Stevie, babies aren't big enough to play with the kind of toys that you or Toni can. They might swallow pieces of them or they won't understand how to use them the right way. You guys will have to be very careful not to let the baby put your toys in its mouth, and that means that you'll have to keep the doors of your room shut when you aren't in them and pick up your toys when you're done playing."

"Aw man, this just keeps getting worse," Toni grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest and scowling, and Stevie heaved a sigh of agreement as Sam tried not to laugh at her overly adult wording. "This baby isn't gonna be fun at all, Daddy!"

"Well, maybe not at first," Sam agreed, reaching down to ruffle her hair. "I bet when you were a baby you weren't much fun either, at first. When babies are first born, all they do is sleep, eat, cry, and go to the bathroom, because they aren't big enough to do anything else. But when they start learning to walk and talk and get big enough to play, you'll have lots of fun, I promise. Babies are like living dolls, Toni, only you have to be much more careful with a baby than your doll. I just know you'll be a great big sister, because you are a great mommy to your dolls and stuffed animals, aren't you?"

"Except for the one that she cut off all its hair and scribbled on its face," Stevie muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes. "She wasn't a very good mommy to that one, she can't cut the baby's hair and scribble on its face, can she, Sammy?"

Both Sam and Toni ignored the little boy as Toni nodded, cheered up slightly by this encouragement from Sam. "Well if it's so stinky all the time I think I'm gonna pick it out diapers," she declared, and Sam laughed.

"That's a good start. Diaper aisle is towards the back, so let's look what's there on the way and see if Stevie sees anything he would like to pick out too."

As they walked towards the diaper aisle, they stopped several times, with Stevie distracted by the soft, squishy stuffed soccer and footballs that he ended up picking out for the baby. Toni had disagreed with him that they would be an appropriate gift for it if it turned out to be a girl, but a reminder from Sam that she herself played t-ball and any sister of hers could play whatever sport she wanted to ended that argument quickly. Toni, in turn, had been fascinated by a set of rubber duckies for the bathtub that Sam suspected she would end up using just as much as any baby would, and she had insisted that the baby would love them even if it "didn't know how to play right." Sam had concluded the shopping trip by finding shirts available in the largest toddler sizes for both Stevie and Toni. Toni's was a sparkling pink with the words "Big sister" written across them in purple sequins, and Stevie's, though a plain blue, had a shark across its bottom.

"There aren't any shirts that say I'm the uncle, Stevie, but Santana can take it to be embroidered with that," Sam had assured him. "Maybe her mami even knows how to do that."

Satisfied, Stevie had nodded his assent with some enthusiasm, and as they had left the store, both children were chattering enthusiastically, seeming much brighter in affect and just as happy as their purchases as about their upcoming ice cream. Sam had taken each by the hand and breathed a sigh of both happiness and relief. It would take some adjustment for them all, but he was sure that both would become accustomed to the idea of one more child in their new little family.


	25. Chapter 25

When Santana heard the phone ring the following afternoon of Sam and the children's shopping expedition, she groaned, in no mood to chase after it. Although it was late afternoon, late enough that Antonia was already home from preschool and Stevie would soon need picked up as well, she was not feeling very well and didn't feel in the mood to talk to anyone, with the exception of Sam or her mother. She had felt somewhat crampy and nauseous for most of the day and was driving herself crazy worrying about it. Until Antonia had needed picking up, she had been googling her symptoms and only making herself worry further about all the potentially dark reasons for her discomfort. She had spent the last several minutes on the toilet, hoping that this would alleviate her symptoms, when the phone started to ring persistently.

"Mami, someone's calling you!" Antonia hollered to her, little feed thudding down the hallway as she came to stand outside the bathroom door. She knocked on it, as though her mother could not hear her the first time she had spoken and needed extra reminders of her existence.

"Who is it, Toni?" Santana called back to her, suppressing her urge to groan again. Why was it that people always seemed to want to call when you were on the toilet, having sex, or in the shower?

"I can't read, Mami!" Toni reminded her, sounding appalled that her mother had forgotten this. "Except some words. Plus this don't got letters, just numbers."

Just numbers? That meant that it wasn't a number that was programmed into Santana's phone. Well, Santana could be thankful that Stevie wasn't joining in on the clamor too.

"I'll call them back later, Toni," Santana told her. She had meant for her daughter to let the phone ring without answering it, but Toni didn't seem to understand this.

"Okay, I'll tell them!" she said brightly. Before Santana could object, she could hear her daughter's little voice from the other side of the bathroom door as she answered the phone.

"Hello? I'm Antonia Cristina Lopez. Are you calling my mami? She's using the bathroom right now but she says she'll call you back. It might be a while though 'cause she's gonna have a baby and she's in the bathroom a lot now."

"Toni!" Santana hissed, smacking the palm of her hand against her forehead in exasperation. What was it with her child not seeming to understand what was and wasn't acceptable to share with total strangers? Then again, if this was a salesperson, it would undoubtedly get them off the phone fast.

She had stopped paying attention to her daughter until she heard her voice rise up with what sounded like surprise, and a little bit of stern reprimand.

"Oh. Well I'm not s'pposed to talk to you no more. My mami and daddy and Stevie all said so. So I can't talk to you."

The hair prickled on the back of Santana's neck as she heard this. Trying to keep her voice calm, she called out, "Toni, who is it?"

But if Toni heard or understood her, she ignored her, intent on her current conversation with the person on the other line.

"Oh….but I'm not s'pposed to," she repeated, her voice doubtful. "'Cause you're mean to my mami and you were mean to me too when I was a baby. You didn't want to be my daddy even though you're my father. Mami told me that, you know. How come you didn't want to be my daddy? I'm a nice girl, I really am."

Heart pounding, a sour taste coming into the back of her throat, Santana barely kept herself from screaming with the surge of rage that seared through her chest. Kyle. It had to be. How the hell had he gotten her phone number, and how dare he call it? How dare he speak to her daughter yet again?

"Antonia Cristina, you need to hang up that phone right now!" she ordered, hastening to wipe herself and flush, but she could still hear her daughter, ignoring her and talking away earnestly.

"Uh huh, Mami is getting a new baby…you stop that. Mami and Daddy said that isn't true. He is too my daddy, he says he is! You stop it, that's being mean. No, I don't wanna do that…they will too. They will too! I don't wanna talk to you no more. Bye."

By the time Santana had pulled up her pants and thrown open the bathroom door, Antonia had ended the phone call and was standing with wide, wet eyes and trembling lips in the hallway before it, holding the phone tightly in one hand. As Santana hurried to take it from her, checking the number that had called and immediately blocking it, Antonia wrapped her little arms around one leg, burying her face against her mother's hip. Santana pushed her back just enough to look into her face, looking down at her after taking several breaths in an effort to calm her still racing heartbeat.

"Antonia Cristina, I told you to hang up that phone and I've also told you not to answer the phone unless I tell you to. I've also told you not to talk to Kyle. Why did you decide not to listen to me?"

Her face wrinkled up as she looked up at her mother, her lower lip even more unsteady as she replied in a teary tone, "Mami, don't be mad at me…he said he wanted to talk to me. He said he really, really wanted to, a whole lot. Mami, he said that he's my real daddy, not Sam, and Sam isn't never gonna be my real daddy. He said that Sam has a new baby now and he's gonna like the new baby better than me because it's his real life kid and I'm his pretend kid. He said you're not gonna have no time for me no more with the baby and I should go live with him 'cause he doesn't have any babies and I'd be the only kid. Mami…is he right? I don't wanna live with him. I wanna live with you!"

Tears began to streak down Antonia's cheeks, and she uttered a sob that was so full of fear it felt to Santana as though it had physically pierced her heart. As Antonia wrapped her arms around her waist again, hiding her face against her hip, Santana enfolded her in a fierce hug, kissing her head and forehead repeatedly as she answered her in a voice choked with emotion as much as with anger.

"No, baby, he was absolutely wrong. You're not ever living with him, not ever. Sam is your daddy, more than Kyle ever will be, because Sam chose to be your daddy. He loves you so much he wants to be your daddy just as much as he wants to be the baby's, and that makes him yours, always. I will always have time for you and I will always love my very first baby girl so very much, forever. Don't even think about what he said to you, baby girl."

Sitting down in the middle of the hall, Santana pulled Antonia into her lap, hugging her close and rocking her slightly, until she felt her daughter relax back against her, reassured. But as her daughter calmed, Santana herself could not seem to do the same.

It took every bit of self control she possessed to send Antonia into the living room to set up a movie, promising her that she would join her shortly. In that brief period of time apart from her, she texted Sam furiously, her hands shaking so badly she made several typos in her efforts.

Santana: ete home today soon as can gobao fckin kill him

Sam: …? Tana what's wrong?

Sam: Calm down, this can't be good for you and the baby. Is something wrong?

Santana: he fuciing called her he told her you aren't her dad and she shud live with him ive fucking had it this is it!

Santana: he told her that wed on't love her like the baby!

Sam: …are you talking about Kyle? Kyle and Toni?

Sam: When did he see her, what is going on?

Sam: are you both ok?

Santana: he got my # idk how, she andoered and he said that!

Sam: ok that's it. We can't put up with this anymore. Obviously he doesn't care about the guards, it's time to get an actual restraining order and official court papers with this.

Sam: It's going to be okay, babe. Are you and Toni ok?

Santana: no gonna kill hi

Santana: yes…sorry gonna be

Sam: Be home when I can, I promise

Santana: ok

Sam: love you. Kiss Toni for me

Santana: ok

88

Once Sam had come home from work that evening, it took some time for Santana to calm down. Sam had managed to distract the children by asking them to sort and fold laundry together- a task that would occupy them and also get something accomplished, though their methods of "folding" would probably be simply to bend all clothing items in half. A virgin margarita, backrub, and plenty of calming words from him had finally set Santana somewhat at ease, and she had felt ready to deal with whatever they needed to do to set Kyle straight.

But the following day sent those efforts crashing once more when a car pulled into the driveway behind Santana's, just as she had pulled in from picking Stevie up from school. Wary, but not recognizing the man who emerged from it, she had instructed the children to stay in the car as she rolled down her window just enough to be able to talk to him as she came up alongside the driver's side.

"This is private property," she informed him, eyebrow raised. "Did you want something?"

"Yes ma'am, this is for you," he informed her with a nod of his head, presenting a large manila envelope that she was had a label with her name typed across it pasted over its surface. "I was told to serve you with the following subpoena. You'll need to sign that you have received it."

"What?" Santana's second eyebrow flew up immediately to join the first as she stared at him. "Subpoena? Who the hel- who the heck is giving me asubpoena?"

"Ma'am, I just deliver the papers," the man shrugged, holding out a second paper for her to sign. "If you can sign here, I'll be on my way."

But Santana was opening the envelope hurriedly, beginning to scan the documents. She had barely gotten past the first few sentences before she was sputtering aloud, her voice rising into a near shout.

"Kyle Lathrop is serving ME papers?! For a hearing on his parental rights?! You have to be fucking kidding me!"

"Mami, you said a VERY bad word!" Antonia chimed in from the backseat, reminding her mother of the fact of her presence. Stevie, however, was not as quick to criticize as he frowned up towards Santana, worry in his expression.

"'Tana, what's wrong? What's those papers for?"

"This is bullshit!" Santana blasted, barely even hearing the children and unable to stop herself from the outburst despite the curious children behind her. "His rights as a parent, he has no rights as a parent and he gave them up of his own damn will long ago! How is this even possible to be happening?!"

"Ma'am, I don't know any of the details and I'm not the one to be asking," the man outside her window told her calmly, indicating the paper in his hand. "I just need you to sign that you received it, and then you can have your say however you see fit, you know?"

"Oh, I'll damn well have my say," Santana stormed, snatching the paper so furiously she almost tore it and writing her name in a scrawl that even she couldn't have read. "Believe me, shit is gonna get said, this is not going to happen!"

She thrust it back to the man, who inclined his head and gave a somewhat awkward wave before walking back to his truck and pulling away. Shoving the subpoena papers back into their folder, Santana started to storm out of the vehicle, forgetting entirely about the children still strapped in beside her until Stevie spoke up meekly.

"Um…'Tana…can we get out now?"

"Oh god…yes, I'm sorry, guys, sorry," Santana muttered, taking several breaths as she attempted to calm herself. "I'm just….I'm sorry, okay? Forget all the bad words I just said, I'm just, I'm really angry now, but it's not at you and it's not your fault."

"You said bad words," Antonia reminded her as Santana unbuckled her from her car seat with shaking hands, lifting her up and setting her on her feet beside her. "You are supposed to use feeling words when you're mad. You should've said I am very mad at you, Mami. Remember?"

Santana tried to smile, but it was much more of an effort than her daughter's chiding words normally would have taken. "That's right, nina, you're absolutely right. I'll do better next time."

"Are you okay, 'Tana?" a still worried Stevie asked, putting a small hand on Santana's arm and looking up at her as he bit his lower lip. "What's going on? You said that Kyle gave those papers to you?"

"What are those papers?" Toni piped up, craning her neck to try to see what her mother was holding. "Do they got mean words in them?"

Santana took another breath, trying to figure out what to say to the children. How do you explain to a four and five year old that the man who had fathered Antonia, the man that she had so carefully explained to her such a short time ago, was now trying to use his abandoned daughter as a weapon against Santana, years after it made any sense for him to truly care about her at all?

"They definitely had some words I don't like," Santana said finally, nodding. "But neither of you two need to worry about it. Sam and I will take care of it, and all we need from you two is to do your best to be the good kids we know you are already."

She managed a somewhat strained smile as she got the children out of the car, into the house, and sitting down eating a snack, Stevie's simple kindergarten homework set out before him and a coloring book set in front of Toni for when they finished. Although she knew that leaving the children alone for long was rarely a recipe for peace, she took the chance then to go into her and Sam's bedroom, shut the door, and dial his cell number. Because she usually texted rather than called him during the day, he would know that something was very wrong.

As she had thought he would, Sam answered by the second ring, almost breathless with concern. "Hey, 'Tana, what's wrong? It's not the baby, is it? It's like, way too early to already be trying to punch its way out. Or kick…wait, they come out head first, right?"

"It's not the baby," Santana managed, and then, before she was even aware that it was a possibility, she found herself bursting into tears, weeping so heavily through the phone that she could hear her own voice crackling. "I want to kill him, Sam, I want to fucking murder him for what he's done now!"

"Um, I really hope you're not talking about Stevie," Sam ventured, the uncertainty in his voice almost equal with his apprehension. "Because if Stevie did something bad enough to make you cry, then it's gotta be really, really bad."

"No, not Stevie!" Santana huffed, swiping at her cheeks with the back of her hand and sniffling loudly as she tried to collect herself. She found herself pacing back and forth across the bedroom floor, her heels clacking as she spoke. "Kyle. Fucking Kyle. Do you know what he did now, Sam? After having the nerve to call my home, to talk to my daughter and tell her the lies he did, he had someone come to us, on my property, while I'm with our children in my car, and serve me a fucking subpoena!"

Her voice rose up on the last word, a half shout, and she felt a fresh rush of tears streak down her face. From the other line, Sam was gripping the phone tightly, running his hand repeatedly through his hair and feeling helpless as to how to respond. He felt that as the man of the house, the guardian of two young children who depended on him for protection, the fiancé of a woman pregnant with his child, he should have all the answers. He should be able to keep someone like Kyle Lathrop from bothering his family. But so far the man seemed able to weasel his way through any safeguards Sam had tried to keep in place. Short of a restraining order, what else could he do? Could they even get a restraining order if they had a subpoena- didn't that mean they had to go to court whether or not they wanted to? Sam wasn't sure.

He was so worried for Santana. It hurt his heart to hear her cry, and to know that she was this upset and he had felt to keep what was hurting her and Toni from happening made him as furious as himself as at Kyle.

"Honey, try to calm down," he said somewhat helplessly, trying to control his own anger as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "It can't be good for the baby for you to be so stressed out."

"How the hell am I not supposed to be stressed out?!" Santana half shouted, making Sam flinch and regret his choice of words. "He's stalking us, he's trying to scare and confuse my daughter and take her away from me, and you think I can just stop being stressed out?!"

"Sorry, sorry," Sam said hastily. "Of course not. But Santana, you know you have to try to stay calm for the baby, and for Stevie and Toni too. Where are Stevie and Toni now?"

"They're in the kitchen," Santana said, taking a few breaths in an effort to slow her breathing. "I made sure the doors were locked, they'll be okay. But Sam, what the hell are we supposed to do? Someone actually took Kyle seriously enough that he's filing for a custody hearing for his rights to Toni. I was so damn stupid to put his name on the birth certificate, I actually thought that it would be better if she wasn't born with the stigma of no father, like people wouldn't look at her like her mother was just some stupid tramp who didn't know. If I had just swallowed my pride and left it blank, he couldn't have been able to do all this shit?"

"Hey, you can't know tthat now," Sam tried to soothe, even as he privately agreed this was probably true. "You didn't know then that Kyle would try to do all this, and you probably hoped he would come around and want to do his job. It's not your fault, Santana. None of this is anyone's fault but Kyle's."

"We have to talk to your lawyer," Santana said, her voice a little calmer now as she slowed her pacing, taking another sniffing breath. "We need to set up a case against him. Get witnesses like Mami if we have to. Toni's teachers. You know. People who know she never had a father around. And Sam, I know the bodyguard thing we were talking about sounds crazy, but maybe….maybe we really do need to think about that."

"I agree," Sam told her, and she could hear his sigh over the phone. "Here's what we'll do. If your mother is able, we'll ask if she can stay for a while, maybe even move in with us. You know she's been talking about moving out this way, and if she can stay with us for as long as it takes to find herself a place she's comfortable with, it would be a lot of help and support to you and the kids. We'll look into bodyguards, and it will be okay. We all know that the truth is Kyle is not deserving to be Toni's father and never will be. If any judge or jury is decent at their job they will see it too. They'll see how much I love her and she loves me, and they'll understand who it is that truly needs to be raising her."

As they hung up the phone, Santana was calm enough to be able to return to the children in the kitchen. Perhaps their trepidation over what had happened in the car had been enough to keep them from misbehaving, because in fact, when Santana returned to them, she could hear Stevie's little voice talking to Toni.

"It will be okay, Toni. Sammy is your daddy now and he won't let that Kyle say mean things to Santana anymore. You just make sure you don't talk to him anymore or let him come over at school or here or other places, and it will be okay."

"But Mami is very mad," she heard her daughter fretting, and her heart twisted within her chest at the worry she heard in a child who was normally carefree. It was so unfair that a four year old would have to be exposed to this kind of bullshit. Sam was right- how could any reasonable person think she should be around someone like Kyle, let alone designate him as her father?

"She's mad because he's being so bad," Stevie reassured her, and as Santana peeped around the corner, she saw that Toni had scooted her chair close to him, and Stevie was patting her arm, as though he truly were her big brother. "But they're gonna make it better, Toni. Really. Sammy always makes things better when they're bad."

Smiling at the scene, even with the sadness it provoked in her, Santana cleared her throat and stepped forward. Her head jerking up, Antonia leapt to her feet and rushed at her, throwing her arms around her mother and hugging her hard around the waist.

"You're not mad anymore, Mami? Is that Kyle gonna go away now? Did Daddy make him?"

"I'm still mad, baby, but just at Kyle and what he's doing, never at you," Santana reassured her, running a hand through her hair and smiling down at her. She looked over at Stevie and directed a smile his way too, tugging Antonia closer to him so she could ruffle his hair. "Stevie is absolutely right. This is nothing for you or Stevie to worry about, because your daddy and I are going to take care of it, and no one will ever take you away from us. Even if you're so mad you want us to go, you're stuck with us."

"I don't ever want that, Mami," Antonia said earnestly, her dark eyes round as she looked up at her. "Not never."

"Glad to hear it, baby," Santana tweaked her nose, smiling. "I don't ever want you to go away too. Now, you know that your daddy and I are going to be married, so why don't we start thinking about that? Let's see, what color do you think your flower girl dress should be? Stevie, I think you'll wear a little suit the same color as Sam's, but if you want something different, we can think about that too."

For Stevie, this was a conversation of zero interest, and he quickly escaped to the living room to start playing video games. But for Antonia, this was a conversation of intense appeal, and she happily started rattling off all her thoughts on exactly how her new frilly pretty awesomest dress should be. She spent the next twenty minutes deciding whether it should have glitter, rainbows, bows, lace, sequins, or all at the same time, and Santana had to try hard not to laugh at that image conjured into her mind.

When Sam came home that evening, both Stevie and Toni seemed more assured, although Santana notied both seeming to want to stick closer to him than usual. That evening after they had put the children to bed, they huddled together in their own bed, Santana with Sam's arms wrapped closely around her, and discussed in low voices their next plan. It was decided that neither child needed to be told about the hearing, or what could be at stake- it would only worry them more than was necessary, especially if, as they both hoped, nothing would come of it to affect Toni's life. Sam let her know what he had discussed with their lawyer, and Santana told him that Maribel had not only agreed to come to stay, but in fact was planning to be there as soon as she could pack her things.

It made Santana feel somewhat better to have a plan of action, but she knew that she would not truly be able to relax again until she heard a judge or jury say aloud for her own ears to hear that Kyle would have no rights to her daughter. The sooner that could happen, the better it would be for them all.

88


	26. Chapter 26

For the next several weeks, Sam and Santana were more than a little busy, getting the ball rolling on the case against Kyle and his claim for paternal rights to Antonia. There were many talks and phone calls with lawyers, and Santana was quickly advised to gather as much evidence as she could against Kyle's lack of support for Antonia and his lack of effort at being involved in her life, from the point of conception onward. Santana was able to remember, after some thought, that she had kept a journal during the time of her pregnancy. It had been a difficult time in her life; having lost friends, her father and abuela's support, and her boyfriend as well, she had had few people to turn to, and she had poured most of her thoughts and struggles into writing. Kyle's abandonment of her and refusal to acknowledge her baby as his own was detailed plainly there. She was able as well to pull up easily enough her banking transactions on line, and there was proof in that as well that no checks or payments from Kyle Lathrop had ever come her way.

She would have her mother's testimony both of the time during and immediately after her pregnancy, of how Santana had had no help or support with Antonia except from Maribel herself. She would have the written statements of Antonia's teachers that Kyle had been witnessed lurking on the school's playground during the child's recess period and trying to talk to her, which was considered trespassing. There was of course the fact that Kyle had not made any move to act as a father towards Antonia or to wish to acknowledge her or become involved in her life until it became obvious that she and Santana both were coming into money through Sam.

Sam assured her, and Santana tried to believe, that all of this would be sufficient for anyone to understand and believe that Kyle Lathrop should not have any rights to a four year old as a father, as he had not previously taken any opportunity to behave as one. But there were still niggling doubts that haunted her, sometimes keeping her lying awake at night with one hand resting protectively on her slowly growing stomach, the other clasped fast in Sam's for unspoken comfort. It was an undeniable fact that Kyle was Antonia's biological father, and Kyle had stated he was willing and had in fact gone through with taking a paternity test, which had positively identified him as Antonia's father. Santana knew that often in the court of law, biological ties were regarded as of the utmost concern. She had, when Sam had not been around to stop her, obsessively been looking through court cases in which parents' rights had either been upheld or terminated, and one thing she had become repeatedly upset about was that even in cases of abuse and neglect, often, courts had refused to terminate biological parents' rights without giving them chance after chance to prove themselves fit parents again.

She knew that by law, and as her lawyer would argue, Kyle had abandoned Antonia by refusing to acknowledge her as his child and refusing to provide his presence or support in her life for her first four years. But what if his claim that he was willing to do so now was all the judge would care about? What if Antonia's well being was cast down in favor of the rights Kyle had not wanted in the first place, before money had clouded his vision?

The night before the hearing was set for, Santana had lay awake in bed. She had been snappy and even teary for most of the day, to the point that Maribel had taken over childcare duties and told her to rest. But rest proved impossible, even when Sam had come in and began to rub her back in the way she usually found so soothing. She had reached back to grip his hand, fresh worries striking her.

What if the judge determined that Sam could not adopt Antonia, because of Kyle's "rights" as her father? How would Toni feel if Sam was the guardian of Stevie and the biological father of the new baby, but could not adopt her? What if she was forced into giving Kyle visitation with Toni? What if Toni was made to spend days with him, even weekends? How could she give her baby girl up to go spend even an hour, let alone a whole day and night, alone with the man who didn't even want her?

It wasn't until she felt something wet in the crook of her neck that she realized she had started to sob, and when Sam's arms closed around her, spooning her tightly from behind and kissing the back of her neck, she held onto his wrists, pulling him more tightly around her.

"He can't have her," she had choked out, sniffling. "Sam, he can't have her, I can't let him take her away from us."

"Baby, that will never happen," Sam had whispered, strong hands still so gentle as they rubbed up and down her arms. "She's ours and we know it, and it will be obvious to everyone else too. You've been a terrific mother to her, beyond what anyone else could do for her. You've raised her well and you've done it all by yourself. Kyle was never there and they'll see that, so why would anyone believe he really wants to be there now?"

"But what if they do?" she had insisted, her nails digging into his skin until she felt him flinch. "People are stupid, Sam, so damn stupid. What if they believe him over me?"

"We paid too much money for a lawyer who's too good for that to happen," Sam had told her, squeezing her back, though more gently. "It's going to be okay, Tana. She's your girl, yours and mine now too, and no one is going to do away with that. No one is going to take our girl away and give her to anyone but us, not for one day."

But despite all logic that told her this was most likely the truth, it had taken Santana most of the night to be able to relax her tired brain enough to come anywhere close to sleep. And in the morning her frantic fears had started up all over again. What if…what IF?

88

The morning of the hearing seemed entirely too soon for Santana. She took care to dress as professionally and modestly as she could manage, fretting even as she did so that she would be judged by the judge, literally, for being pregnant for the second time without yet being married. What if that made him think that she somehow wasn't fit as Antonia's mother? What if he thought that she really was probably the kind of girl who slept around, the kind of girl that Kyle would have had legitimate doubts about when she accused him of fathering her child?

It was ridiculous to worry about that, she knew; even if she was the most promiscuous person alive, the fact remained that Kyle was Antonia's father, biologically, and he had had sex with Santana and then refused to even take a paternity test in order to make a show of responsibility. But what if she got some old, white, uptight judge who couldn't look past her dark skin and slight belly bump in how he saw her?

She was more than willing to give a testimony, as was her mother, Sam, and a number of others in Antonia's life that were ready to vouch for her current well being without Kyle trying to weasel his way into the picture. But Mr. Dover, their lawyer, had indicated that given their passion and the level of emotion they felt towards Kyle and his actions, it might be best if he were to simply lay out the facts without her testimony. Santana had a suspicion that he thought she might lose the proper lady act and start cursing on stand if she were pushed too far.

She was relieved when she saw that the judge in question was not in fact a man at all, nor was she very old. She was a woman in perhaps her late forties or early fifties, her dark hair carefully styled- and maybe, just maybe, she was a mother herself.

Both Maribel and Sam were with her for support, sitting directly behind her, and when she occasionally felt the strong touch of her fiancé and the gentle caress of her mother on her shoulder or back, it gave her strength. She did all she could not to even glance in Kyle's direction, not wanting her focus to be diverted to him for a single moment more than was needed. She knew already that not interrupting with her own objections when he spoke in the future would be difficult enough.

Their lawyer, Mr. Dover, presented his opening statement simply enough; Santana was aware of its basic wording, but hearing him present her story, and that of her daughter, so simply, in such a factual manner, was somehow strange, like hearing a story about someone other than herself. It was a little embarrassing too, as she had not expected, because she knew that the story was hers, that everyone present and listening knew it was about her, and what might they think of her, knowing all of this about her when she didn't know the first thing about most of them?

"Santana Lopez was only seventeen years old when she found herself pregnant with the child whom is now her four year old daughter, Antonia Lopez. Although Ms. Lopez was young, frightened, and certainly not having planned or expected the circumstances in which she found herself, she nevertheless acted with maturity, responsibility, and determination beyond her years. For the past four years, with the help and support of only her mother, Maribel, Ms. Lopez has raised Antonia Lopez with skill, careful guidance, and most importantly, with great love and concern for her and what would serve her daughter best. Ms. Lopez has always been employed throughout her pregnancy and throughout her time raising her daughter, and she has lived without the financial support of her mother or any other from the time she was nineteen years old. Ms. Lopez has never been on welfare, has a clear criminal record, and graduated from high school with a remarkable GPA, despite attending while still pregnant with her child. Ms. Lopez's care for her daughter has never raised any concerns, and all those who know the child, including her dentist, doctor, and teachers, all affirm that Antonia Lopez is healthy, happy, thriving, and very much bonded to her mother. She has met all her developmental milestones, and in all aspects Ms. Lopez has proven herself to be an excellent mother to her child."

He paused, giving a smile first to Santana, then to the judge, before looking rather pointedly at Kyle's strained face across from him.

"The same, unfortunately, could not be said of the defendant, Kyle Lathrop. From the time of his daughter's conception, Mr. Lathrop has not only failed to provide for his daughter, as Ms. Lopez always has done, but has in fact from the time of her conception failed even to acknowledge the possibility that she was his biological child. Mr. Lathrop refused a pregnancy test at the time of his child's conception, despite knowing that he had engaged in sexual relationships with Ms. Lopez and she had correctly named him to be the father. Despite Ms. Lopez's efforts to involve Mr. Lathrop in the life of their mutually conceived child, for the first four years of Antonia's life, and for the entirety of Ms. Lopez's pregnancy, Mr. Lathrop has refused all contact and all support of her, both emotionally and financially. In this hearing, you will be provided with proof that Mr. Lathrop did not make any effort to support, become acquainted with, or even acknowledge Antonia Lopez to be his daughter for the past five years. Only now, when Antonia is four years old and her mother wishes to marry a man of considerable financial means, does he decide to acknowledge and provide a presence in this child's life. Ms. Lopez's fiancé, Mr. Samuel Evans, is very involved with and bonded to Antonia, and he is well able and willing to provide for her. Mr. Evans is also not only willing but eager to adopt Antonia as his own child. Today, I am certain through the evidence presented that you will come to believe, as Ms. Lopez, Mr. Evans, and the child herself, Antonia Lopez, do, that Mr. Lathrop's rights as a father are nonexistent, given his history of behavior towards the child in question."

As he sat, momentarily resting his case, Santana released a breath she hadn't quite realized she had been holding. She definitely agreed with Mr. Dover and thought that he had presented himself well; hopefully the judge would too. But what was Kyle's lawyer going to say to refute him?

Kyle's lawyer, Mr. Owings, was more slow to stand, smoothing down his collar. He looked deliberately at Santana, as well as Sam and Maribel behind her, his eyes narrowed as though in judgment, and Santana had to press her lips into a thin line as he turned back to the judge, addressing him with obvious arrogance in his tone.

"Who among us has not made mistakes when we were young and foolish, missteps that in hindsight, we would love to go back and change? Kyle Lathrop was himself only eighteen years old when presented with the possibility of becoming a father before he had even graduated high school. He was a young man who had plans for his life, dreams for his future, and when presented with the possibility of the death of those plans and dreams, he panicked and shied away from the opportunity he was offered, the opportunity to know and acknowledge his child. Was Mr. Lathrop's choice, at eighteen years of age, selfish and perhaps unadmirable? Yes, it was. But was a choice made when a youth is not yet of legal age to even drink alcohol meant to be a choice that will haunt and punish him for the remainder of his life? Kyle Lathrop has grown and matured in the four years between eighteen and twenty-two, as all of us do, and he deeply regrets his earlier behavior and choice to distance himself from his daughter. Mr. Lathrop wishes to take on his responsibilities, to do right by his only child and be a father to her, to know her and be able to provide for her, as only a father can for his daughter. Mr. Lathrop is not seeking to take away the rights of Ms. Lopez, nor is he seeking to cause any harm to Antonia Lopez, or to deny her a healthy bond with the man who is to be her stepfather. All Mr. Lathrop wants is a chance to make a bad decision right, to be able to have his rights as a father. Is that something so difficult to understand?"

Listening to this, Santana clinched her fists in her lap, wanting nothing more than to stand up and shout her own responses about just what it was that Mr. Lathrop truly wanted, which was not at all the chance to be a father to a little girl he had dismissed long ago. She wanted to tell everyone present how he had tried to manipulate his child, how he had frightened her and invaded her privacy and told her information inappropriate for a little girl to have to think through on her own, before she was ready. She wanted to tell everyone exactly what she thought of him, but she felt Sam's hand squeeze her shoulder, steadying her, and she swallowed back her angry words, merely lifting her chin instead to settle herself.

Mr. Dover gave her a reassuring smile, as though to tell her he had it all covered, as the defense called Kyle Lathrop to the stand. Santana chewed her inner cheek, barely containing herself as Kyle was asked questions by his own lawyer, presenting himself in the light of a confused young man who wanted nothing more than to be a responsible father to a child that, as Kyle portrayed it, he had been denied the opportunity to get to know. She came pretty close to interjecting her own objections before the defense rested, and her own lawyer stood to cross examine Kyle.

"You admit that for the past four years, you have had no contact with Ms. Lopez and her daughter until early this year," he began, and Santana smirked, noticing and appreciating the slight stress he put on the words "her daughter." "What was it, Mr. Lathrop, that drew your attention to Santana and her child at that time?"

"Well, we were in a diner together, same time, same place," Kyle answered, giving an easy shrug, seeming confident that the truth, in this instance, was harmless. "I recognized Santana and saw Toni with her, figured she was her daughter. Our daughter. She was a real cute kid, and I realized then that I wanted to know her, that I wanted to be involved. That I had made a mistake, and it was time to make it right."

"So you ran into Ms. Lopez and her daughter by chance," Mr. Dover said slowly, again putting slight emphasis on the phrase "her daughter" as well as on the word chance when he spoke. "You made no effort to get in touch with her over the years, had no curiosity about the child that she had long before claimed to be yours. In fact, Mr. Lathrop, you went out of your way to avoid any contact with Ms. Lopez and her daughter, isn't that right?"

"As I said," Kyle replied, his voice somewhat tighter than before, his expression flat, "I did run into her by chance, yes, but once I saw Toni for myself and realized what I was missing out on, and the mistake I had made, I wanted to make things right. She's my daughter, and I should be taking ownership of that."

"But Mr. Lathrop, as Ms. Lopez has presented, and as you yourself have admitted in your testimony, you previously felt that Antonia Lopez could not be your biological child. What made you decide, upon a single meeting, that your former girlfriend's child, whom you had at one point been so certain could not be yours, could in fact be your child after all?" Mr. Dover pressed, and Santana raised an eyebrow, wanting to hear this answer herself. How was Kyle going to wiggle out of that one?

She could tell from Kyle's hesitation before he responded, as well as the way he glanced at his lawyer as though wanting him to supply him with an answer, that he wasn't exactly sure what to say.

"Well, I didn't know it then," he said finally. "Not for sure, I hadn't taken a paternity test at that point or anything like that. But I started to wonder some time soon after that."

"When exactly was it that you started to wonder, Mr. Lathrop?" Mr. Dover persisted, eyebrows raising to mirror Santana's. "You were so certain before that Antonia Lopez could not possibly be your child, so certain that you refused to support her or her mother in any manner during Ms. Lopez's pregnancy and for the first four years of Antonia's life. You were so certain, and yet something changed your mind? How could you be so absolutely positive at one point in time, and then change your mind a few years later?"

"Objection, argumentative," Kyle's lawyer broke in, but the judge waived him off, allowing for the questioning to continue. Again Kyle seemed to struggle with his response.

"I was never totally certain that she wasn't my child," he admitted finally, resentment coloring his tone if not his expression. "There was the possibility. When I had better evidence, I was willing to do my part. Isn't that what's important now, that I'm willing to step up and support my child? To be her father?"

Again Santana had to bite the inside of her cheeks to keep from shouting out at him, and she dug her nails into her palms. How could he think that anyone would take him seriously? How could he not realize that the time for him to be Antonia's father had come years ago, not now, when she had a father in Sam who was more than just willing, but actually anxious to play that role?

"So you weren't certain," Mr. Dover let each word be uttered slowly, hanging in the air like a judgment. "You weren't certain that Antonia Lopez was not your child, you knew there was a possibility that she was, and that Santana Lopez was telling you that she was. And yet, you refused to take a paternity test. You refused financial, emotional, and parental support of both her and her mother. Mr. Lathrop, if you knew, as you just admitted, that there was a chance that you had fathered Ms. Lopez's child, why is it that you did not acknowledge that possibility and take the appropriate measures to determine whether she was your equal responsibility?"

Kyle was quicker to answer this time, and much more tight lipped in his answer.

"As I have already stated, I was young at the time, and I made mistakes in my judgment and my choices. I've learned from that, and I'm willing to make up for them now. Both for Santana's sake, and my daughter's."

Seeming to change his tactic, Mr. Dover switched the direction of his questioning. "When was it, Mr. Lathrop, that you changed your mind about wanting a relationship with Antonia?"

"When I saw her in the diner, it got me thinking about it, and what I could have missed out on," Kyle answered, seeming more at ease with this new question. "I guess it was about then."

"And yet, you did nothing to personally contact Ms. Lopez at that time, or shortly after it," Mr. Dover stated, not asking so much as telling him and the judge this. "In fact, at the time that you saw Ms. Lopez in the diner, you created such a disturbance that she and Mr. Evans, her fiancé, complained to management that you were disturbing their dinner and upsetting the children who were present with your language. If you had started to "wonder" then, as you put it, about pursuing a relationship with Antonia Lopez, what did it take for you to actually begin to do so?"

"Well, I saw her again a few weeks later, at a baseball game," Kyle stated, shrugging his shoulders and shooting what looked to Santana and Sam both like a very fake smile. "And it seemed to me like that was a sign. To go so many years without seeing her or Santana, and then to see her twice in such a short time? So I guess it was around then that I started doing some thinking and reassessing and realizing where I had gone wrong. That was when I decided that I should begin a relationship with my daughter."

"So you just happened to be at that game, huh?" Mr. Dover asked, and Kyle nodded, his tone almost belligerent.

"Yes, I happened to be. Is that a crime?"

"Let's cut to the chase here, Mr. Lathrop," Mr. Dover rolled his eyes, allowing his lips to quirk into a knowing smirk. "I have witnesses present now, Mr. Lathrop, that would testify that you not only always watch the New York Yankees games, but also were well aware and present during the time of Sam Evans's first game and subsequent filmed interview, which both Santana and Antonia Lopez were present during as well. So let me ask you, now that you're aware of this- did you witness Sam Evans' first game with the New York Yankees, and the interview with himself, Santana, and her daughter after the game?"

Santana started to smile, barely stopping herself from wiggling in her seat with a burst of glee. She knew exactly where this was going.

"Well, yeah, I saw it," Kyle said defensively, putting one hand palm up as though in surrender. "I saw her, and I heard her calling that guy her father, the same guy that was in the diner with her, and I thought, what if he's not? How's that fair to that little girl, to lie to her like that?"

"And so you made sure you were present at the following Yankees game," Mr. Dover stated, and as Santana had hoped, Kyle took the bait.

"Yeah, I did. Like I said, I was starting to rethink things."

"It's interesting how you tend to "rethink" things immediately after you heard an interview in which it was mentioned exactly what kind of money that Ms. Lopez and her younger daughter were now involved in," Mr. Dover stated dryly, even as Kyle's lawyer barked out his objections and Mr. Dover rephrased his question. "Mr. Lathrop, are you familiar with the names Yasmine Torrance and Parker Denton?"

Santana thought she saw a flicker of something cross over Kyle's face even as he shook his head, his expression neutral. "No, I don't know those people."

"I suppose you wouldn't," Mr. Lathrop's voice was dry again. "Those people, Mr. Lathrop, happen to be the children of Kelly Torrance and Olivia Denton, two women who have in 2014 and 2015 declared you to be the father of Yasmine Torrance and Parker Denton. Are you familiar, Mr. Lathrop, with the names of the women who are the mothers of those children?"

Santana's breath caught, and she couldn't resist turning around to shoot an excited look towards her mother and Sam. Her mother shared her broad grin, and Sam appeared dumbfounded. If this was true, then they had this case in the bag. There was no way that a man who already had refused to support two other children would be ordered a custody arrangement, or any parental rights at all, to Toni.

Kyle didn't answer right off. He looked almost as stunned as Sam did, perhaps because he had not expected this to come out in the open. His mouth opened, and he looked to his lawyer again as though expecting him to give an answer. But the other man, Santana noticed with an even greater surge of glee, looked even more blown away than Kyle did and had put his head down, shaking it as though in disgust. He wasn't trying to voice objections anymore, and when Kyle finally responded, Santana couldn't keep from snorting in muffled laughter.

"I didn't take a paternity test for one of them, so I don't know that's true."

Santana covered her mouth with her hands, but she was pretty sure that she was grinning through her cupped hands. She didn't even have to pay attention to the rest of the proceedings from that point on- she knew already that whatever closing act stunts Kyle's lawyer might try to pull, whatever fancy talk he might give about mistakes and epiphanies, Kyle was sunk. Toni was hers and only hers, and if she had sole custody and rights to her, then soon, she would be able to be legally Sam's too.

The rest of the proceedings seemed to pass in a blur. Ever meticulous, Mr. Dover pounded his case into the ground with his presentation of witnesses, written evidence, and a closing summary that made it more than abundantly clear that Kyle was not only a serial child abandoner, but also was now interested in responsibility for Antonia only due to his understanding that Antonia was now involved with a man who was of considerable financial means. And when Kyle's lawyer had finished his rather half hearted summary, not even bothering to look in Kyle's direction, it took less than ten minutes total for the judge to deliberate and come to a verdict.

The legal wording did nothing to conceal to Santana and Sam the bottom line of his declaration- that Kyle Lathrop had no legal or parental rights to the minor child Antonia Cristina Lopez, due to his abandonment of parental duty in not one, a minimum of two different cases. From this day forward, Santana had sole custody and rights to her child, and that left her legally free for adoption. Furthermore, Kyle was sentenced to a rather hefty fine and retroactive child support for not only Antonia, but also Yasmine Torrance, whom he had also been proven to have fathered and abandoned.

It all seemed a blur to Santana. Dignified or not, entirely forgetting both the current setting she was in and her pregnancy, she let out an excited whoop and scrambled to her feet, arms flailing as she grasped in her excitement for her mother and Sam. Sam was there and ready, lifting her up under her arms as though she were no bigger or heavier than Toni and pulling her into an awkward but enthusiastic embrace. She could hear her mother laughing and cheering, her arms going around them both, and for that moment, Santana simply basked in the glow of what she knew now to be their success.


	27. Chapter 27

The whole ride home, back to the children- their children, as it now could legally be declared- Sam held Santana's hand in his in between their seats, squeezing periodically. He couldn't stop himself from glancing over at Santana often, his own smile broadening every time he caught sight again of her wide grin, and it made his heart feel full to the bursting when he thought about the way the dimples would dig into Antonia's cheeks when she realized that she could and would be his daughter. She would be so happy to know that Sam could be her daddy, and Sam? Well, he felt on top of the world.

Although he had tried to show nothing but confidence in front of Santana, privately Sam had feared that somehow, he would not be able to have Toni as his legal child, that somehow Kyle's biological contribution would overrule his complete lack of effort to be a decent parent. What if their lawyer couldn't match up to whoever Kyle could hire, or if the judge was one of those types who thought that any biological parent, no matter how terrible, had more of a right to their child than the people who loved and raised her?

But none of his secret fears had come true, and now it was assured for him that Toni was to be his daughter. Santana was going to marry him, he had landed the career of a lifetime, and Santana was now pregnant with his first biological son or daughter. There was nothing more that Sam could imagine happening now to make his life any more magical or complete.

Frequently he lifted Santana's entwined fingers to his lips and kissed them as they drove, exchanging rather goofy smiles at her own wiggly excitement, loving the way Santana in an especially happy state sometimes looked and acted nearly as young as her daughter. As they pulled into the driveway of their home, Maribel's car pulling in behind them, Sam almost sprung out of the car and around to the passenger side to open the door for Santana. He couldn't wait to share the good news.

Antonia flung the door open before they could even reach it; Sam wondered with amusement if she had waited throughout the entire time they were gone at the window to watch for them coming back, or exactly how many times she had pestered the babysitter with questions of how long it would be before her mami and daddy came home. Santana had confessed as they were leaving that Toni had never before been left with a babysitter other than her mother, and Toni's anxiety about this change in routine had been pretty obvious.

"Mamiiiiii Daddyyyyy!" she had shrieked, reaching up her arms to be picked up and giving a little hop of excitement. "Stevie Stevie Mami and Daddy are home!"

Sam could hear Stevie's feet thudding down the hall as he came running to greet them, the more slowly moving babysitter following. Grinning, Sam reached to scoop Toni up in one arm, Stevie in the other, so both kids were perched somewhat awkwardly, one on each hip. He hugged them close, feeling both their little arms wrap around his neck and providing some balance, and Santana leaned in to hug them both too, grinning at their obviously happy smiles.

"We were very good!" Toni announced, beaming. "Even though I didn't like you going at all! I didn't even be bad at all!"

"You were too bad a little bit," Stevie countered, eager to tattle and show off as having been "gooder" than Toni. "You cried when they left and said you wanted your mommy. Then you kept asking Hannah to call them and tell them to come home."

"Did not!" Toni protested, before looking up guiltily at Sam. "That's not bad, is it, Daddy?"

"I'm sure you were good," Sam told her, smoothing her hair back from her forehead. "We missed you too, both of you. And guess what, Toni Toes?" He poked at her bare foot playfully, unable to hold back his grin when she giggled and kicked at him, narrowly missing kicking Stevie.

"What, Daddy, what?"

"Well, Miss Antonia Lopez, this is your very lucky day, because…" Sam paused dramatically, just so the little girl would push at his shoulder, giving a little bounce on his hip as she demanded he finish his sentence.

"Daddyyyy tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"It's your lucky day, because you get to come with me and your mami and pick out any cake you want in the whole entire grocery store," Sam told her, meeting Santana's eyes past the two children and grinning as both children gave a delighted whoop in response to this statement.

"How come Toni gets to do that?" Stevie couldn't resist demanding, despite his pleasure at the prospect of cake for any reason. "It's not her birthday!"

"Be quiet, Stevie," Antonia ordered, perhaps afraid that she wouldn't get the cake after all if Sam realized this. Santana stifled a laugh as the little girl, unable to resist the question after all, added in, "Yeah, Daddy, it's not my birthday. Do I get a cake 'cause it's my un-birthday?"

"Toni, you've been watching that creepy Alice in Wonderland video again, haven't you?" Santana asked, making a face at her, as Toni giggled, nodding her head cheerfully.

"Uh huh! Daddy, Mami is scared of that big pink cat," she announced, covering her mouth with one hand. "She doesn't like how it smiles so big."

"I'm not scared of it," Santana said quickly and somewhat defensively. "Just, what kind of cat disappears all except for it's stupid humongous smile?"

Sam couldn't help but chuckle, knowing that Antonia was undoubtedly right. "Don't worry, we're not going to have any disappearing smiles on this awesome day," he teased Santana before turning back to Toni and Stevie. "Today is a special day, a day that definitely needs a cake, because this is the day that we know for one hundred percent and forever that you get to be my very own little girl, very soon. A very smart judge just told Mami and Daddy that it's okay for me to adopt you, and what that means is you'll be my little girl just like you're Mami's, always."

Toni's face lit up, and she clapped her hands, dimples digging into her chubby cheeks. "Yay!"

"Oh…like when I was a baby and a smart judge said that you would take care of me?" Stevie remembered, adjusting his hold on Sam's shoulder. Smiling down at him, Sam nodded.

"That's right." He hugged Stevie too, including him now in his addressal. "I get to take care of the very best two kids ever. I'm definitely one lucky guy."

"We're lucky too, Daddy," Toni announced, punctuating her words with a pat to Sam's shoulder and a sweet kiss to his cheek, and catching Santana's eyes again, Sam saw the soft, relaxed lines to her face, the wideness of her smile. His heart melted with gratitude and quiet joy. His rapidly growing family could not be any more perfect, he was sure, nor could it make him any happier.

88

The rest of that evening seemed truly perfect to Sam and Santana both, and the kids, for their part, certainly seemed to enjoy themselves as well. Antonia relished being given the task of picking out a cake to celebrate their victory in court, and she definitely made the most of this responsibility, carefully deliberating over all the possibilities. Although Santana couldn't see the appeal of the My Little Pony themed cake she had chosen, and Stevie had definitely made a face and declared that she had picked a "girly" cake, this hadn't held him back from chowing down happily enough at his piece of it, and asking for a second slice as well. There had been plenty of time afterward for the four of them to go shopping for wedding clothes for the children, and after seemingly endless modeling shows from Antonia as she tried on what seemed like every dress in the store that was her size, trying to find a flower girl dress that was "the most prettiest," she had finally settled on a dress that was pale pink, sleeveless, and fell to her shins in length, just soft and "swirly" enough that it flew out and made waves when she twirled in a circle. It had a white filmy material over its pink skirt that was transparent and carried fake rose petals inside it. Antonia had turned in circles in delight at her reflection in the mirror until she fell down on her backside, evoking guffawing laughter from Stevie, who had been hunched over his Ipad, totally ignoring her as he had picked his little suit out long ago, after trying on exactly two examples.

Of course, Toni had pouted and stomped around a little at Stevie's laughter, but she had soon perked up when Santana helped her up and Sam told her all over again just how pretty and princess-like she looked in her chosen dress. And she did; looking at her daughter, imagining her wearing her little frilly dress and flinging rose petals, most likely in people's faces, as she walked down the aisle ahead of her, Santana had had to bite her lip to keep in her tears. The day would come soon, she knew, much sooner than it seemed now. So many happy days ahead of them, so very much to look forward to- how was it possible that her life could be turning out so well?

They had concluded the evening celebration by letting the kids pick out a movie for them all to watch together before bed. They had settled on the couch, Stevie on one side of Sam, Toni curled up, nearly asleep, in Santana's lap, and Santana too was growing sleepy, her head starting to droop towards Sam's shoulder, when she felt it. A strange jolting feeling in her stomach, a sharp but not painful sensation that she at first could not interpret. When it happened the second time, though, she knew. The baby was moving; the baby had just made its first two kicks, its first real communication with the outside world.

Although Santana had gasped, and Sam looked over quickly, concerned, it was Toni who voiced it first, rubbing at her eyes groggily as she looked down at Santana's stomach, scowling.

"The baby's pushing me, Mami. Tell it that it's my turn on your lap and it's gotta share."

"Santana, is she right?" Sam's eyes grew wide as he turned almost fully around, focusing all his attention on his fiance's stomach. He reached out a hand, then drew it back, as though afraid to go through with touching her all the way, like he could hurt the baby inside. "Did it…did the baby just…"

As though in answer, the baby kicked again. This time it was Sam who gasped, and Toni scowled more deeply, looking up at her mother as she complained, "Mami, it's doing it again! Make it be nice to me!"

"What's it doing?" Stevie, interested, tore his eyes from the screen to look over at the other three. "It's in your belly, isn't it? How can it do anything to Toni?"

"Oh Toni, the baby is being nice to you," Santana managed, through a smile almost as huge as Sam's. "This is your brother or your sister, saying hello for the very first time. It wanted to make sure that you were the first one it ever spoke to. It already loves you and thinks you're special. Hold still, and touch it, and maybe it will say hi again."

Both the children hold still, their hands just lightly touching Santana's stomach. She noticed that Sam was almost holding his breath, hope and wonder alit in his gaze. When the baby kicked again, a few moments later, Stevie grinned, and the look in Sam's eyes was nothing less than a perfect way to draw a wonderful day to its close.

88

For Kyle Lathrop, the day was not so happy. In fact, Kyle was more than a little pissed off. It was true, of course, that he really had no desire to be a father, nor to have any "rights" as a parent towards Antonia or any of his other fathered children. If he were to be honest, it wouldn't bother him at all if he never saw any of those brats again. But what did matter to him was that by having access to Antonia Lopez, he would quite possibly also gain access to Sam Evans's money, and possibly be able to prevent Santana Lopez from being able to marry a guy who could end up sharing all that money with her.

At least, that had been the idea, and his intention behind his efforts of gaining access to Antonia. What he hadn't counted on were those stupid damn women that he had forgotten long ago, and their stupid brat kids that happened to share a few genes with him, coming back to bite him in the ass. He hadn't expected that his own damn lawyer would more or less give up on him in the middle of the trial, and for the judge to obviously favor Santana. Now, he had no access to Antonia by law, and he was facing jail time if he didn't pay up what the judge was claiming he owed.

But that didn't mean it was over. No, if anything, Kyle was more determined than ever to get what he saw as his fair share of that Evans man's money, and to make sure Santana had less access to it too.

The key, of course, was still Antonia; if he could get to her, he was sure that money, to her mother and Sam, would be nothing in comparison. And it was with this understanding in mind that he began to form a plan.

88

Toni had taken quite some time that evening to be able to fall asleep. After the excitement of the hearing's outcome, her parents' obvious happiness, the news of her upcoming adoption, and then the cake and dress shopping, she had been in a fervor of energy and enthusiasm, doubtless further heightened by all the sugar. It had taken Santana singing to her softly in the living room and Sam tucking her in and reading her several stories before she could relax enough to drift off to sleep.

It seemed all too soon when she was awakened by a soft but persistent and steady tapping noise at her window. As Antonia sat up groggily, rubbing her eyes and scowling, she could tell even through her squinting that her room was still dark, and outside her bedroom window, it was still night time. She could only see by the light of the moon and stars shining through. She was starting to call out that it was still sleep time when she realized that a man's face was looking in through the window at her, a face she recognized a moment later to belong to Kyle. Kyle, the man that was her real father but not her daddy. Kyle, the man that her mami and daddy and Stevie were all so mad at and who had been so mean to her and her mami.

More alert with this realization and scowling even more heavily, Toni pushed back the covers of her bed, getting to her feet and turning to face Kyle full on with both hands on her hips as she whisper-hissed her admonishment to him.

"You aren't supposed to be here! You're not my daddy no more!"

She could see that Kyle's lips were moving, as though he were saying something to her, but through the glass of the window, Toni couldn't tell what he was saying. "I can't hear you!" she told him, shaking her head, but he was still talking like he couldn't understand. If she couldn't hear him, maybe he couldn't hear her either. Sighing out loud and rolling her eyes with the mannerisms of a child much older than four, Toni stalked over to the window and fumbled for several moments with its latch, pushing it open and calling out in a loud whisper to the man outside of it.

"You aren't s'pposed to be here, Kyle! My mami and daddy would be very, very mad if they saw you. It's s'pposed to be sleep time and you are s'pposed to stay away from me 'cause you're not my daddy anymore, the judge said so. Plus I'm not s'pposed to talk to you, so go away!"

"Now hang on a minute, Toni," Kyle said to her, spreading out his hands as though in surrender. "I'm not here to hurt you, or do anything bad to you. I just wanted to talk to you."

"I'm not s'pposed to talk to you," Toni repeated stubbornly, shaking her head and crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm s'pposed to sleep and you woked me up. I oughtta go tell my mami and daddy on you. So go away."

"You already are talking to me, so if your parents find that out, you're already in trouble," Kyle pointed out slyly. "You wouldn't be able to go tell on me without getting in trouble too, now, would you?"

Antonia considered this, frowning as she considered that this could be true. She bit her lower lip, thinking, before relenting.

"Well, I guess I won't tell on you, but you need to go away 'cause I wanna sleep. Plus you're not my daddy anyway, the judge said so. You can't be no more 'cause Sam is my daddy now."

"But that's what I want to talk about," Kyle insisted, stepping closer to the window and lowering his voice as he made his voice pleading. "Toni, that makes me very sad to know I can't ever get to know you or be your daddy. So all I want to do is tell you goodbye and how happy I am that you're my little girl even if I don't get to be your daddy. I just want to give you something so you can remember me if I don't get to be that for you. Can't you just come here for a minute so I can give it to you?"

Antonia considered this, still frowning. It didn't seem to her like such a bad request, and she felt sorry for how sad Kyle looked and sad. Finally she nodded, curious in spite of herself. One thing Toni found difficult to resist, no matter who it was coming from, was receiving a gift.

"What is it?"

When Toni was close enough that her head was almost hanging out of the window, Kyle's hands shot up, and he seized hold of her upper arms, pulling her further out the window and towards him. Immediately Toni began to shriek and scream, kicking her legs and trying to pull her arms out of the man's grasp. Kyle retained his grip, frightened by the child's surprising strength and resistance but determined to hang on, rather than drop her to the ground or release her back into her bedroom. There was no turning back now; this was something he had to go through with.

In their bedroom, Santana and Sam were jolted out of a deep, peaceful sleep by the shrill panic in their daughters screams. Both nearly flew out of bed and bolted down the hallway, intent on reaching her. But it was Stevie, sleepy as he was, who reached the bedroom first, as his room was closest to the little girl's. He let out a loud gasp of shock as he saw the struggle taking place at the window, and he bellowed out at the top of his lungs, "You let go of my little sister, you bad man! Sammy, Santana, come get him, hurry!"

He ran forward himself, grabbing at Toni's legs and pulling in an effort to bring her back into the room. Toni screeched with renewed volume from pain at the rough pulling of her legs, but even with Stevie's efforts, Kyle was stronger and managed to pull her outside with him. One hand firmly grasping Toni, he reached up with the other and pulled the struggling little boy out the window after her. As Santana and Sam's figures broke through Toni's doorway, their wide open eyes could only take in the sight of Kyle's retreating form, holding each child under his arm like footballs as they kicked and flailed and screamed, struggling to wrest them both into his car.

"Oh my god!" Santana gasped, the words strangled and raw in her throat. Her eyes were open so wide they seemed to be ready to actually come out from their sockets, and the hand covering her mouth was holding onto her own jawline so tightly Sam could see her nails starting to dig furrows into her skin. "Oh my god, he's taking them, Sam, we have to stop him, we have to get them, hurry!"

She lunged towards the open window, heedless in her desperation to get to her daughter and Stevie, actually lifting her leg up with the intention to scramble out the window after them. Coming partly out of his shock, Sam hurried to her, taking her by the waist and pulling her back. Santana fought him, but he held on, half shouting into her ear.

"Santana, you're pregnant, you could hurt yourself!"

"I don't give a damn, he has my baby!" she screamed, the panic stark in her tone as she continued to writhe in Sam's grasp. "He's getting away, we can't let him take them away!"

"I'll go after them," Sam promised, punctuating his words with a reassuring squeeze, even as his own heart pounded crazily in his chest and adrenaline shot full force through his veins. "I'll go, baby, you stay here and call the police. I need you to call the police so they can catch them if I can't."

"Hurry!" Santana ordered him, her breathing coming in near pants, and Sam didn't hesitate to obey. As he flew towards the front door, he knew in his heart that Kyle almost certainly had managed to pull away, and they had no way of knowing what direction he was heading in. They didn't know whether he had somewhere in particular to stay, was crashing at someone's home, or was hopping between hotels. Sam wasn't even sure what color or make the car had been, other than dark and average.

As he had feared, Kyle, his vehicle, and the children were no longer in sight by the time he got out the door. Somehow, he had wrestled two unwilling children into the vehicle and taken off with them. But where? And why? Money? Revenge? Something even worse?

Sam's stomach lurched, and he had to take several breaths before he could continue his fast pace to his own car. Maybe if he took off after Kyle fast enough, he would be able to see the children in the car and overtake him. Maybe he could run his own car into Kyle's and force an accident- no, what if the children got hurt? Surely in the grips of hysteria and anger, neither Stevie nor Toni would be belted in. Knowing his children, they would be still kicking and hollering, trying to pry the doors and windows open to jump out, even if Kyle was going entirely too fast for this to be safe.

Sam didn't even think about calling Santana to tell her this updated decision. He didn't have his phone to do so anyway. He ran back inside just long enough to grab his keys, but Santana was already waiting for him in the kitchen, almost smacking into him in her agitation and nearly aggressive desire for information.

"You didn't get them, you didn't get him! He's already gone, what the fuck are we going to do?! The police said they're coming but I didn't know the damn license plate, I didn't-"

"Stay here," Sam instructed, barely pausing to give her shoulder a quick squeeze. "I'm going to look for them."

"What do you mean, stay here, if you're going to look for them I'm coming too, there's no fucking way I'm staying here!" Santana sputtered. She pushed past Sam to the doorway, although she didn't have the keys, certain that she was coming along.

Sam tried to argue. "Santana, you don't need-"

But he cut himself off immediately when his fiancé turned to him with eyes blazing, all the emotion she was feeling towards Kyle now directed at him, the next person to be standing in her way. "What I need right now is to be doing everything I can to get my baby and Stevie back, right now. And I am not going to sit here and wait to see if that happens."

She stalked ahead of him, and Sam saw that it was much wiser to simply follow after her. He did, however, make sure that it was himself and not Santana who slid behind the wheel.

Even as he drove, Sam's mind was whirring with fear that he didn't dare to voice out loud. Santana, however, had no such hesitations.

"Sam, what if he's going to hurt them?" she choked out, her nails again digging into her own skin as she held her arms tightly over her stomach. "They're just little kids. What if he won't let us get them back? He was so angry in the court room, what if he-"

"Santana, don't talk like that," Sam interrupted, unable to stand even hearing the words, let alone considering their possibility. "We'll get them, and if we don't the police will." He had to believe that. He couldn't keep functioning if he didn't make himself believe that.

"You don't know him!" Santana ground out, clinching her jaw. "You don't know him like I do, he doesn't care about them or who they are, he only cares about him. He's angry and he wants back at me, what if he does something to them?"

And Sam couldn't think of anything to say to counter this. All he could do was mumble a helpless, "We'll get them back, baby. We will."

And as they drove, knowing that the police were on the lookout, with some on the way to the house to look at the scene of the crime, even as their eyes remained wide open, ever vigilant for any sign of the car or their children's faces pressed against car windows, both had the sickening fear that it would be in vain.


	28. Chapter 28

Truthfully, Kyle Lathrop had not considered all the logistics of a successful kidnapping of one child, let alone two. He had acted on impulse, believing more out of a rash desire than careful planning that he would be able to pull it off. There were a lot of factors involved in his current situation, however, that he had not quite planned out. For one, the other kid being dragged along too: that had definitely not ben a part of his plan, limited as it had been.

On one hand, it was maybe a good thing, if that meant Santana and her little boy toy would pay twice the amount of money and be twice as frantic to get them both back. On the other hand, the practical part of actually having to deal with an extra angry and frightened child almost made it not worth the possible extra money he would bring.

For another thing, Kyle had never particularly liked children. Because of that, he had not willingly spent a lot of time around them, and that meant that he wasn't exactly sure how to deal with them even in the best of circumstances. He was used to using his charm and manipulation on others, whether adults or not, and that had been what he had tried when interacting with Antonia previously. But he now had two children whom were too wound up for charm to even enter their realm of hearing, let alone influence their responses.

He also hadn't expected that children so young could have such strong wills, nor that they could be so strong. The kids couldn't be more than six years old at the most, yet it had taken all his strength- and Kyle didn't lack it, as working out was one of his favorite hobbies- just to drag them both to the car and child lock the windows and doors before they could break out. Forcing them into seatbelts hadn't even been a possibility, let alone something he actually succeeded at.

And then there had been the matter of what, exactly, he could do from this point on. Kyle had planned to take Toni into a hotel room; he wasn't stupid enough to think he could take her back to his own apartment without the police showing up, before any money could be exchanged. He had figured he would drive off somewhere until she wore herself out enough to sleep. Maybe he would give her a drink laced with sleep meds, and then he could just carry her inside without her fighting. But with two kids, this seemed impossible.

For one thing, the little boy was too damn smart. Much smarter than Kyle would have expected.

As soon as Kyle had started driving, the little girl had continued to kick and scream, demanding that he let her go, that he take her back to her mami and daddy, now, right now. She had beat at the windows and doors and pulled frantically, trying to get herself loose. But the little boy had taken a few deep, shuddery breaths, then reached to take Toni's hands, not letting her continue to hit.

"Toni, you're gonna get hurt," he had said, and though his voice was shaky, it was clear even to Kyle that he was trying to calm her down. "The bad man locked everything. You can't get out."

"I can too!" Toni had shouted, still struggling against the boy's grip, but he had held on even as she continued to scream. "We gotta go back, I want Mami, I want Daddy! Make him stop driving us!"

"I want Santana and Sam too," Stevie had said to her, and when Kyle glanced back in the rearview mirror, he had been uncomfortable to see that both children had tears in their eyes. "They're gonna get us. They won't let him have us, and I won't let him hurt you." Then, as though unable to resist adding this, he said in the tone of a beleaguered older brother chiding a younger sister, "I TOLD you he was a bad man."

"Hey," Kyle had to cut in at that point, annoyed. "That isn't true. I'm not a bad man. I'm not taking you forever, and I won't hurt you. I'm not sick like that, I don't hurt little kids. I just-"

"You hurted my arm!" Antonia interjected indignantly, rubbing the sore limb and glaring towards Kyle's direction. "And my feelings."

"And you hurt Sam and Santana too," Stevie added bitterly, scowling. "You are too a bad man. I told you not to talk to Toni. You are too a bad man, but I won't let you hurt her."

"I'm not going to hurt Toni," Kyle had repeated, a little exasperated, and more than a little annoyed by the boy's insistence. "I told you, I don't hurt little kids. I don't hurt anybody, I'm not a psychopath. Your mom and dad just screwed me over, and they need to pay what they owe for that. Once they do that, you can go back home."

"I wanna go home now!" Toni demanded, and she started to chant it loudly, kicking her legs against Kyle's seat. "Take us home, take us home, take us home!"

As though on cue, Stevie took up the cue, kicking his legs too. And what the hell could Kyle do about it? He couldn't pull over. What if someone saw them inside and recognized the kids, or figured out what was going on? How was he going to go get the kids a drink and leave them alone inside the car, but how would he go through a drive through with the kids screaming like that in the back? Even if no one believed the kids had been kidnapped, they would certainly remember them if he were to be traced back to that spot somehow. But how could he carry them both into a hotel, or anywhere else for that matter, with the kids still awake and protesting all the way?

This was fast becoming a headache. This was supposed to be a fast and easy way to get back at Santana, not to mention make back some of the money he was having to pay out now. But now that he had the kids, Kyle couldn't figure out what the hell to do next.

88

Sam was quickly grateful that it was himself and not Santana in the driver's seat. She was harsh and rapid in her impulsiveness in her commands to Sam even from the passenger's seat, barking at him to turn sharply, cut people off, and heedless of running stop signs or red lights in her haste to follow after any car that she thought looked to possibly be Kyle's. Sam didn't try to argue with her; it was enough to focus on simply being a safe driver, as safe as possible, anyway, under the circumstances.

He felt eaten up from the inside out with his anxiety for the children, even as he tried to keep his hands steady on the steering wheel. But as worried as he was for them, he was just as worried about Santana too. It couldn't be good for her to be so stressed out now, so upset, and it couldn't be good for the baby either. What if the strain she was going through now was somehow poisoning their child, or would bring on early labor? How could he stand to lose three children all at once?

No, that wasn't going to happen. He couldn't let himself even think that, and he certainly wouldn't say it to Santana. They were going to be okay, all of them. They were family, and both he and Santana and their children were strong. He would get them back; they would, together. However they had to do it.

Santana was dialing Kyle's old number over and over, barely allowing the voicemail to come on before she'd hang up and dial again. In between dialing and listening to the rings she kept her eyes open wide, snapping directions at Sam. Sam didn't dare tell her that he didn't think that Kyle was going to answer her, and he might not in fact even have his phone on him. The truth was that he was hopeful that something would come of her efforts too.

But he still didn't expect that her efforts would pay off, when no more than ten minutes into their driving, Kyle finally picked up.

"I was GOING to call you," was his snapped greeting, and Sam let out a huge breath of relief. He could hear the children, his children, in the background, chanting in indignant, shrill unison that they wanted out of the car, and he felt himself grin with sheer pride. They were okay, both of them, and they were fighting every step of the way.

Beside him he felt Santana's sharp inhalation as she heard her daughter's voice, loud and demanding and clearly not in any sort of pain, and he gave her a tense, forced smile as he responded back to Kyle.

"Look, I'll have you know that we called the police and they're going to track you down, if we don't first. You need to bring our children back home safely and you need to do it now."

"I'm not going to harm them, I'd worry more about the brats being stupid enough to cause an accident if I were you-" Kyle started, but Santana snatched the phone from Sam's hand, speaking into it with eyes alit with her rage.

"Listen to me, you fucking sick bastard, you touch my children and I swear I'll kill you. Do you hear me? You harm them in any way and you are dead. How DARE you do this, how DARE you, you damn psychopath, just what the fuck do you think you're doing?!"

Toni, hearing her mother yelling through the receiver, changed the intention of her shouts, now calling out to her in frantic efforts for her mother to hear and respond to her voice.

"MAMI! Mami I hear you, he tooked us! He tooked us and I wanna come home RIGHT NOW!"

Chiming in with her, Stevie added, "Yeah, we wanna go home! Come get us, Santana! Sammy, get us and take us home!"

Sam's heart clinched as he heard the little voices of his children, their children, calling out to them, so earnest in their belief that he and Santana could save them, that they would save them, if they only asked. He could see Santana out the corner of his eyes, blinking back tears even as anger remained tightly etched in her expression.

"We're coming, baby girl, I promise. Be a brave girl and boy for me and Sam, okay?"

"I'm braver than Stevie!" Toni claimed, and Santana and Sam both managed a smile as Stevie countered, "You are not!" It seemed that even in the midst of a crisis, the children were not going to stop being their usual selves.

"You want them back, then we need to start talking business," Kyle started, even as Stevie piped up behind him, shouting loud enough for Sam and Santana to hear.

"My brother doesn't have a business, he plays baseball, you dummy!"

Sam laughed in spite of himself, reaching for the phone that an unwilling Santana finally yielded. Controlling his tone as well as he could, he asked, "What exactly do you mean? Are you trying to make us pay to get our children back?"

"This is fucking unbelievable," Santana snapped, gripping a handful of hair in one hand. "I cannot fucking believe his nerve! This man has to have a fucking death wish because I swear I'm gonna kill him!"

Sam had to take a breath himself before he could steady his anger enough to reply. "And how exactly do you think you're going to get this money and why should we give it to you?"

"Easy. If I don't get the money then I will simply have to take the kids somewhere, preferably in Santana's country of origin, where questions won't be asked and the kids answers don't matter," Kyle responded, before snapping back at one of the children, "I said stop kicking my chair!" Composing himself audibly, he continued, "I'll give you my bank and its account number and you wire a million bucks into it today. I'll give you a few hours to arrange it. Don't do it and don't get the kids."

Santana's eyes bulged, and she snatched at the phone, trying to pry it from Sam's hand to give Kyle a piece of her mind about this threat, but Sam held on. What if Kyle's response to her was to give up on his promise not to harm the children? If she made him angry enough, it could be the children that would suffer.

"Text us the information," he managed, still trying to stay calm. "We'll send it."

"Are you out of your fucking mind?! He's getting shit from us and he's giving those kids back, now!" Santana hissed, her nails now digging into Sam's shoulder, but Sam ignored her for the moment. He could hear his daughter, his little brother, calling out for him in the background, and it was them that he focused on.

"Stevie, Toni, we're going to get you and bring you home real soon, okay? Be good and look out for each other. Santana and I love you."

"I love you!" he heard two anxious little voices chorus. "Don't hang up, come get us!"

But Sam did hang up. Even as Santana half screeched her indignation at this, scrabbling for the phone to call back, Sam held her off the best he could one handed, shaking his head.

"Listen to me! Santana, listen! The police can trace that call, we had him online for a while there! We have to call and let them know what happened, they're going to get him, Santana! He can't be that far away yet, not the way the kids are making a racket in the backseat. They're okay, they're going to be okay. I promise you, we'll get them back. But we can't do anything to mess that up, we can't do anything to make him decide to mess that up!"

Unwillingly, Santana took a slow breath in, begrudgingly agreeing. Of course she would never do anything that could put Toni and Stevie in danger. But it was so hard for her to have to do anything that meant waiting and being patient when their children were gone, in the hands of a man that she now despised more than she could have thought possible to feel towards anyone.

"I just…I just want them back, Sam," she managed, as her throat suddenly choked over with her emotion. "I just need them to be with us. I really need them back."

Reaching for her hand, Sam briefly entwined his fingers with hers, squeezing firmly.

"I know, baby. I do. And I understand. And we will get them back. I promise."

88

In the car with the children, Kyle was having a rather difficult time. Toni was continuing to whine and voice her displeasure with being trapped in his general vicinity, and Stevie was no better. Both of them together were keeping up a running commentary of how badly they didn't want to be in the car with him, how mean and bad he was, and how much they wanted to be with Santana and Sam and how much Sam was going to kick his butt when he found them. It was driving him absolutely insane to have to hear it. He considered pulling over at the side of the road and finding something to stuff in their mouth just so he wouldn't have to hear it anymore, but he was sure that they would then just return to kicking at his seat.

He definitely had not planned this out like he should have. He should have had something to tie them up where they couldn't kick or fight, something to gag them with so they couldn't make noise. But the thought of doing that to little kids, even kids as feisty and irritating as these two, made him uneasy. The truth was that he didn't want to hurt them, even if they were making his life hell at the moment. He wasn't that kind of guy. Just because he wanted the money, and to hurt Santana, didn't mean that he wanted to hurt a kid to accomplish that.

"Stop it!" he called out irritably to the duo in the back seat, feeling the tension that had already been very much present in his neck and shoulders slowly pinching its way down his upper arms and spine. "You're not going to get me to pull over and let you out by doing that, so stop? Where would you go anyway, neither one of you has a clue where you are!"

"But we could get someone who does know," Stevie said reasonably, shrugging his shoulders as he continued to steadily kick the seat, even as he spoke. "Only I guess not 'cause we're not supposed to talk to strangers. Or get in cars with them. So I guess we'll walk until we figure it out."

"Yeah!" Toni half hollered, and Kyle saw her turn and offer a hand for a high five to Stevie, who somewhat reluctantly slapped it. "We'll walk until we figure it out!"

"Well I'm not letting you out, so you're not walking anywhere," Kyle muttered, shaking his head. "So just stop it."

"Please let us out?" Toni switched tactics abruptly. Though whether she was going for polite or annoying as possible as her method of getting her way, Kyle didn't know. "Please please please please please please please please please please?"

Picking up on her new strategy immediately, Stevie chimed in. "Please please please please please please please?"

The more times they said that single word, the louder and shriller their voices seemed to be, and the more it grated at Kyle. How could anyone stand to be around any human being under the age of sixteen for more than five seconds at a time?

"You're gonna go to jail, you're gonna go to jail…please please please please," Stevie switched it up slightly, and when Toni echoed him, punctuating her pleases with kicks, Kyle exploded.

"Will you shut the fuck up before you make me kill us all? Jesus, do the both of you actually want to die back there?!"

Both children fell silent, their eyes wide, and Toni, squirming, leaned over and whispered very loudly to Stevie.

"Are we supposed to answer him? We can't answer him and shut up too, can we?"

Exasperated, Kyle accelerated, still unsure of exactly where it is that he was taking the children, but wanting to get there as fast as possible. He hadn't noticed the police car coming up behind him, and by the time he heard the siren start up and saw the blue flashing lights signaling for him to pull over, he had no restraint left to keep him from screaming.

"Fuck, what the fuck, are you fucking serious, FUCK!"

Still wide eyed, the children regarded him solemnly from the backseat, and it was again Toni who whispered loudly to Stevie.

"He's saying REALLY bad words!"

For the few seconds he had to make a decision before the police car could force him off the main road, Kyle considered the possibility of making a break for it. He could floor it, speed out faster than the police car could run. But what if they already had his license? He'd have to steal a car, and how would he do that? What if he caused a wreck? It didn't bother him to think of the children or someone else being hurt, but himself was another matter.

And the truth was, even with the ten minutes he had been with the children, he was already more than sick of it. Truthfully, money in his hands or not, he was more than ready to give them back.

"Fuck," he said again, more of a sigh than anything else, and he pulled over to the side of the road, rolling down his window. This was it. He was more than done, he was over.

No sooner had the police officer strode over, starting to inform him about his speed and the unbuckled children in the backseat, were the two children in question leaning forward shouting out eagerly that they had been taken, they didn't want to be with this bad man, they wanted to be with their mami and daddy and their Sammy. It seemed an unbelievably short time to Kyle before he was getting slapped with handcuffs and having his rights read to him as he was lead over to the police vehicle in question, his own abandoned after all.

And he had thought the day in court was bad.

88

Sam was still barely able to concentrate on his driving, not with Santana in the car beside him, barking out instructions as to where she wanted him to turn and practically having a heart attack every time they passed a car that even slightly resembled Kyle's. He was on the verge of snapping at her, despite his efforts to be patient, when he saw the car pulled over on the side of the road, parked just in front of a police car. There was a man being guided into the police vehicle, his head down so that Sam could not see his face. But what caused Sam's heart to leap was the sight of the little blonde boy and little brown skinned girl practically skipping around the parked car, both obviously prattling on full speed.

He didn't even have time to alert Santana; she had already seen it herself and was throwing her seatbelt off, rolling down her window and leaning out of it in her haste to get her daughter and Stevie's attention. "It's them, Sam, it's them! ANTONIA! STEVIE! We're here, we're coming to get you!"

Both children clearly heard Santana's shouts, because as Sam pulled in behind the parked police car, he could hear Toni's excited shrieks and Stevie's whoops. He had to be careful that neither child ran in danger's way of the car, nor that Santana leaned so far out the window she fell out, or else jumped out of the car and hurt herself before it was fully stopped.

As Sam parked, hastily undoing his own seatbelt, his fiancé was already out the door and running ahead of him, arms open to engulf both Toni and Stevie at once. Sam hastened to follow her, seeing that Santana was trying to lift both children in her arms at once and struggling, and quickly lent supportive arms to hold all three at once. Toni was chattering away, her mouth all too close to his ear as she dramatically shared her adventure.

"I didn't even want to go with that bad Kyle, he made me! I was good and I listened and said no, but he pulled me and then he got Stevie and he tooked us both! And we were kicking and saying we wanna go home and he wouldn't even listen so now he's gotta go to jail, right, the police guy is gonna make him go to jail!"

"I was making her be good," Stevie declared proudly, one arm slung around Sam's neck, the other around Santana's as he looked between them both, wanting their approval and pride of him. "I was telling her how to be good so we'd be okay!"

"I was good!" Toni protested, misinterpreting Stevie's words, but Santana was not listening to either of them. She was squeezing them both tightly, tears running down her cheeks and seeping into the crook of her neck, and Sam too had to swallow several times, his throat tight and eyes burning with the intensity of his relief. The children were okay. Everything was going to be okay, because everything and everyone that mattered in his world was his again.

"Why are you crying, Mami?" Toni questioned, concerned, as she reached up and touched the wetness of her mother's cheeks. "Did you get hurt?"

Santana wiped her cheeks, taking in a slow breath, and the smile she directed at her daughter was shaky, but genuine, the brightness in her eyes happiness as much as it was tears. "Oh no, baby, I'm not hurt. I'm happy. So, so happy to have you both back again."

"We're happy too," Toni agreed, snuggling in as close against her mother's face with her own as she could manage. "'Cause that car, it was stinky. Like yucky cheese."

"That was you!" Stevie accused, giving her a poke in the side. "You don't got socks or shoes on, that's your own stinky feet!"

"It was not neither me!" Toni's eyes widened with her outrage as she turned on him, hands on her hips. "I don't stink, you do!"

As the children started to argue back and forth, neither Santana nor Sam even really heard their accusations of each other. Both of them simply pulled the children in tight against them, aware of little else around them in the world in that moment. There was nothing else that could matter except having them there with them, close and safe and theirs.


	29. Chapter 29

"Push, baby, push…you can do it," Sam urged, trying not to flinch at the harsh grip his struggling wife kept of his hands. Already he had regretted not making sure that Santana's nails were cut short before the big day now at hand, because the little cuts all over his palm had already bled more than once. "You can do it, you've got this, just push!"

"If you…tell me….one more time…to fucking PUSH….I will fucking push YOU… right through… the damn…floor!" Santana ground out, each word punctuated with panting little cries of her pain.

Despite the apparent sincerity of her words, Sam tried not to smile. It really wasn't funny. In fact it was very difficult for Sam to have to see her like this, to have to watch her suffering with so little he could do to help. It was bad enough to see Santana emotional in the best of times; to have to watch her feeling so pain and being unable to do anything other than hold her hand and say whatever lame encouragements came to mind was almost painful for him too, but he knew better than to say that. Santana was certainly not in the mood to have any sympathy.

"You can do it," Sam settled for, deciding to leave out the commands altogether. "You've got this, Tana, you know you've got this!"

"No I fucking don't!" Santana half screamed, squeezing his hand until he heard a bone seem to pop slightly. "If I did, I'd be holding the damn baby instead of ripping myself open like a fucking Christmas present!"

But even as she spoke Sam could see the dark crown of the baby's head beginning to emerge from between her legs, and as Santana screamed without words, bearing down once more, Sam almost held his breath, watching his child emerge into the world for the first time to draw its first breath.

The newest Evans was slimy, covered in blood and gook that Sam couldn't and didn't really want to identify. It had a head full of dark, slick hair, squinted puffy eyes, and a tiny body that was dark red and swollen from the birth. Its nose was barely more than a snub, and its mouth was open, its new lungs experiencing their first work out as the child bawled loudly.

"Oh my god," Santana breathed, and Sam heard himself echo the sentiments a few moments later, startled as much by the sound of the tears in his throat as the sticky wetness of them on his cheeks. "It's okay? What is it…is it okay?"

She was trying to sit up on her elbows, her chest heaving, her hair nearly drenched with perspiration and sticking to her cheeks as she strained, despite her weariness, for a first glimpse of her child. Sam put a supporting hand on her shoulder, aware that his own was shaking as he kept his eyes fixed on his child.

"Perfectly healthy," the nurse assured them as she looked the baby over efficiently, quickly but carefully cleaning her up. "You have a beautiful new little girl."

Tears began to streak down Santana's cheeks in a near mirror of Sam's, and the sob that emerged from her throat was one of joy, weariness, and relief all at once. She held out her arms, wanting to hold the baby, though she seemed incapable of forming words, and as the baby was placed within them, Sam crowded close, taking his first look into his daughter's eyes. In that moment, it seemed to him that nothing could make a more perfect moment.

His daughter. This baby was his daughter.

Since Kyle's arrest and conviction on multiple charges of kidnapping, reckless driving, endangerment of minors, trespassing, and breaking and entering, among others, Sam and Santana's life together seemed to consistent of increasing moments of happiness. There had been Antonia's adoption ceremony, of course, the day that court documents were signed to make her officially Sam's child.

That had been one of the happiest, most satisfying days of all of their lives. Knowing that they were that much closer to being a fully legal family, recognized by the courts as belonging to each other, was a wonderful thing, one that both Sam and Santana felt in their hearts to be not just wanted but needed. Although Antonia was of course too young to understand all the technical language used in the court, she had been on her very best behavior, sitting in the audience with Stevie and Maribel, staying as quiet and still as was possible for an energetic four year old. She had been so beautiful and happy that day, twirling around in her chosen adoption day dress once she had confirmed with Maribel that she was now Antonia Evans, Sam Evans's real and true daughter. Everyone there that day couldn't help but smile when they looked at her, wanting to hug her or kiss her or ruffle her curls, and Sam had lifted her into his arms and cradled her close, knowing that the court had only made official what had already been decided long ago. It had been some time now that Toni had truly been his daughter how it counted.

Then of course had come one of the other of their most happy days, the day of his and Santana's wedding. It had been the second of his girls to tie their relationship into something secure, forever, and true, something official to all who knew them. Santana had been so breathtaking to him then, the radiance of her smile bringing her dimples into full view, and nothing could have dimmed the glow of her eyes as she made her way down the aisle to him, her daughter and her brother-in-law reaching their arms up to be the ones to walk her down the aisle. Even with the slight bump of her belly messing up any smooth lines of her wedding dress, she was so stunning Sam had barely breathed. It hadn't mattered to him that Toni had tripped and almost fallen as she walked down the aisle, forcing Santana to lean over and almost overbalance herself to catch her. It had mattered that Stevie had dropped their rings and had had to crawl on all fours like a dog to retrieve one from under the church pew. It had been another perfect and beautiful day, one they would always treasure.

And now there was this day. The birth of their daughter, their first biological child together. She was perfect too, in spite of her swollen body and reddened skin, her wildly disheveled dark hair and her feebly twitching limbs. Looking at her, Sam felt nothing but joy, and so it was unsurprising when Santana, tears still streaking, gulped a breath and spoke her first words, after the initial breathless first ones of her overwhelmed love for her new child.

"Felicity…"

Confused, Sam took his eyes off her to meet his wife's gaze, and Santana sniffled, wiping her face against her already damp shoulder before explaining.

"Her name…I think we should name her Felicity. It means happiness…and even though I hurt like a bitch, I'm just so fucking happy right now I can't even stand it."

Sam gave a small laugh, nodding, and squeezed her shoulder, giving Santana a kiss on her head before returning his gaze to their daughter. "Felicity," he said, trying the name out. "Felicity Evans. I like it…we could call her Lissie, maybe, until she's older."

Later, of course, when Santana had rested and Felicity had been fed for the first time, Maribel would bring the children in, and they would meet their new sister, in Toni's case, and niece, in Stevie's, for the first time. Sam could only imagine their unimpressed responses; Stevie would be disappointed that he didn't have another boy in the house to play with, and Toni no doubt would be very upset at no longer being the only girl, Sam's only daughter. It would be more than a little of an adjustment, to bring another little person, a whole other personality, into their world, especially with a child like Felicity Evans, who shared both Sam's and Santana's, and by extension Stevie's and Toni's, blood. Surely one or both would comment on Felicity's untamed hair, her crying, the smell of her diapers, or the redness of her skin. No, Sam doubted that either of the older children would be very thrilled with the newest Evans member at all.

But to him, and to Santana, there was nothing in Felicity but perfection, and whatever their children's response, to them, their family was complete. Whatever struggles they had endured, both during their time together and before having met at all, was now so much less important than their future together- as spouses, as parents, and even as two people, still not yet in their mid twenties, but already having found their niche in life.

The end


End file.
